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How salt is preventing pony deaths in national park

Kirsteen O'Sullivan
BBC South
Reporting fromNew Forest
Charlotte Andrews
BBC South
Getty Images A white and a brown pony standing in the forest. They are surrounded by green heathland. One is grazing on grass. The sun is rising in the background and it is a bit misty.Getty Images
Ponies often stand in the roads to lick salt after the surfaces have been gritted in winter

A trial aiming to reduce the number of animals killed on roads in a national park has been dubbed a success by campaigners.

Ponies in the New Forest, which are attracted to the gritting salt spread on roads in icy weather, are being lured away from traffic with saltlicks.

Made from plastic bowls filled with rock salt, 30 of the devices have been placed near key routes across the forest.

The scheme was introduced following the deaths of four ponies on Roger Penny Way in 2020.

A saltlick in the forest - a large rock of pink-coloured salt sits in a white bowl. The white bowl is inside an old tyre and the whole thing is on the ground.
Himalayan salt, which does not dissolve easily in rain, are secured inside old tyres for the livestock to lick

A total of 22 ponies were killed in traffic accidents in 2024, according to figures from Verderers of the New Forest - a record low.

Gilly Jones from New Forest Roads Awareness said the saltlicks were helping to discourage them from standing in the road.

"The animals lick the salt day and night and this is what we have to remind people of," she said.

"It's safer for them, it's safer for the drivers because obviously no one wants to have an incident involving livestock."

Sally Jolly, a middle-aged woman standing in the forest. She is wearing a beige jumper and brown coat and is standing with her hands in her pockets. Her blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail. The forest behind her is out of focus, but a brown pony can be seen grazing on some grass.
Commoner Sally Jolly says she recently lost one of her ponies in a hit-and-run

Thousands of animals, including ponies, cattle and donkeys, roam free in the New Forest.

They are owned by commoners who have rights to use the land for grazing.

Sally Jolly from East Boldre, Hampshire, said her pony named Whisper was "left for dead" after being hit by a car in December.

She said: "It doesn't get any easier - I think people think that we've got quite a few ponies but they're like family to us."

Tony Vanderhoek, a man with grey hair wearing blue jeans and a navy fleece.
Tony Vanderhoek says it is a cost-effective way to prevent animal deaths

Tony Vanderhoek, part of the New Forest Commoners Defence Association, has been making and installing the saltlicks in the forest for about four years.

He puts the devices near the roads "most notorious" for animal deaths, including the B3054 in Beaulieu and the B3078 near Fordingbridge.

"Because of that horrific accident, there was outcry, there needed to be something done," Mr Vanderhoek said.

"They're in danger of being run over if people aren't paying attention."

Costing about £500, the project is being funded by the New Forest Trust for the first time this winter.

It is hoped, alongside campaigns to target speeding motorists, the numbers of animals being killed on roads in the New Forest will continue to fall.

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