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Dartmoor pony meat sold by conservation charity in bid to maintain population numbers Dartmoor pony meat sold by conservation charity in bid to maintain population numbers
(about 20 hours later)
A conservation charity has begun selling pony meat in order to save the endangered Dartmoor Hill pony. A conservation charity has begun selling pony meat in order to save the endangered Dartmoor Hill pony. 
The meat will be made into sausages and steaks and can be bought at farmers’ markets and restaurants in Devon.The meat will be made into sausages and steaks and can be bought at farmers’ markets and restaurants in Devon.
In a statement on its website, the charity said the decision was made to encourage farmers to conserve them. In a statement on its website, the charity said the decision was made to encourage farmers to conserve them. 
The number of Dartmoor ponies has fallen from more than 25,000 in the 1930s to less than 800 today.The number of Dartmoor ponies has fallen from more than 25,000 in the 1930s to less than 800 today.
400 foals a year are shot by farmers - which the  Dartmoor Hill Pony Association says is "not acceptable".400 foals a year are shot by farmers - which the  Dartmoor Hill Pony Association says is "not acceptable".
It said: "Due to the economic problems being felt in this country and abroad, the sale of horses and ponies has dramatically decreased. For semi-feral herds across the UK this has become a huge problem.It said: "Due to the economic problems being felt in this country and abroad, the sale of horses and ponies has dramatically decreased. For semi-feral herds across the UK this has become a huge problem.
"During the last few years many Dartmoor farmers have stopped keeping ponies as they are no longer viable and unless a way can be found to make them profitable the remaining farmers will have to do the same. "During the last few years many Dartmoor farmers have stopped keeping ponies as they are no longer viable and unless a way can be found to make them profitable the remaining farmers will have to do the same. 
"Hill Farmers can’t afford to keep luxuries and this will mean that the Moor won’t be grazed properly...and would become vastly overgrown."Hill Farmers can’t afford to keep luxuries and this will mean that the Moor won’t be grazed properly...and would become vastly overgrown.
"[This] not only prevents the vital income brought by tourists but also greatly damaging the habitats of a number of insects and birds and other animals.""[This] not only prevents the vital income brought by tourists but also greatly damaging the habitats of a number of insects and birds and other animals."
The charity said pony meat had already proven popular with local hoteliers as it "low in fat, high in omega 3, organic and delicious like venison".The charity said pony meat had already proven popular with local hoteliers as it "low in fat, high in omega 3, organic and delicious like venison".
Carlos was down on the beach at Morro Bay in California, on holiday with his family, when he witnessed a fascinating interaction between two different species. A colony of California ground squirrels lives among the rocks at one side of the bay, fed by locals, who also put out dishes of water for them. What Carlos noticed was that western gulls were monopolizing the water. Whenever a ground squirrel dared to get too close, a gull would chase it away, aiming its powerful beak at the squirrel’s head. Carlos was fascinated by the way the ground squirrels would try to sneak in for a sip when the gulls weren’t looking. Here, the two competitors’ eyes lock over the coveted fresh water. Carlos took the shot just before the gull lunged forwards and the squirrel fled.
Carlos Perez Naval
One of Rosamund’s photographic ambitions was to photograph Scottish mountain hares in the snow, camouflaged in their winter coats. Native to Britain, mountain hares moult from brown to white or partially white in winter, depending on temperature. With a local expert, Rosamund climbed a valley in the Scottish Cairngorms, ‘at times through knee-deep snow’, until they came across a couple of hares that allowed them to approach within photographic range. Their mottled, snow-dusted coats echoed the colours of the snow-covered hillside. For several hours, Rosamund lay on the ground in freezing temperatures, observing the hares snuggled into their forms (shallow depressions) as fine snow blew over them and rime coated their pelts. In the late afternoon, the hares finally became active and started to feed, scraping the snow from the heather and then nibbling the shoots. Positioning herself so that she was looking up a gentle incline directly at one hare, Rosamund captured its determined scrabbling in a head-on portrait.
Rosamund Macfarlane
When the River Danube flooded into Hungary’s Gemenc Forest, more than a thousand great egrets flocked to the lake to feed on the stranded amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Working on a project to document the last untouched regions of the Danube, including the floodplains, Zsolt was delighted to find a sixth of Hungary’s great egret population in the one place. By 1921, hunting had reduced their number to just 31 pairs. Today, habitat loss is the big threat. Using the soft dawn light, Zsolt wanted to convey the impression of a multitude of birds. So he pitched his camouflaged tent nearby, sleeping just a few hours a night for five nights. His chance came when a fishing white-tailed eagle sent some of the egrets into the air. With a slow shutter speed to blur the wings and a large depth of field to keep in focus those standing, Zsolt got his memorable image.
Zsolt Kudich
White storks seem equally at home on artificial structures as they are in trees, often nesting on rooftops and telegraph poles. Francisco discovered three pairs high on this sculpture outside the Vostell-Malpartida Museum near Cáceres in Spain. The installation, by German artist Wolf Vostell, incorporates a Russian MiG-21 aircraft, two cars, pianos, computer monitors – and now, three huge nests, which the storks use each year, migrating from their overwintering grounds in southern Africa. Francisco wanted a picture of the storks sleeping under a starry sky, but there was too much light. ‘I got special permission for most lights to be shut down,’ he says, ‘but then the storks kept moving about and flying off.’ Using a long exposure, he got just one shot he liked, with the storks quietly asserting their place in the modern world that Vostell depicted.
Francisco Mingorance
Ponies will not enter the food chain until they are at least three years old giving them "three summers running free on the moor". Ponies will not enter the food chain until they are at least three years old giving them "three summers running free on the moor". 
But other conservation groups are skeptical about the plans. But other conservation groups are skeptical about the plans. 
When the DPHA first proposed selling pony meat last year, another local conservation group - South West Equine Protection (SWEP) - said "it would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months' time could be in someone's burger".When the DPHA first proposed selling pony meat last year, another local conservation group - South West Equine Protection (SWEP) - said "it would be very upsetting to look at foals which in six months' time could be in someone's burger".