An operation to microchip moorland ponies in Cornwall is underway. The Bodmin Moor Commoner’s Council are rounding up ponies on Bodmin Moor. They are arranging for a vet to microchip them so that they can be identified if they are found injured, ill or starving. This follows the deaths of 20 ponies found starving in 2013.
Any pony not claimed by an owner will be re-homed at a horse sanctuary. The council said it had helped rescue more than 100 ponies since January 2016.
Vet Scott Mann has been working with the Redwings Pony Sanctuary, the RSPCA, Cornwall Council, DEFRA, various charities and the Bodmin Moor Commons Council to address the issue,and thanks to funds from the Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust, over 160 ponies have been microchipped and passported. Julie Dowton of the Bodmin Moor Commons Council said: “We haven’t been able to identify the owners of these ponies over a number of years and it’s a big problem. By microchipping the ponies, we will now be able to remove those which have been abandoned much more quickly.” She also said that the chipping would allow it to alert owners when sick ponies are found.
More about Microchipping & the identification of horses
Dechra Veterinary Products guide to Microchipping