A NEW initiative which hopes to safeguard livestock on Dartmoor has been launched and is literally turning ponies blue!

The Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS) has painted a number of privately owned ponies with a reflective blue stripe, which will later be topped with reflective beads.

Backed by Dartmoor National Park, the plans have been put in place to minimise the number of animals being hit by cars.

The DLPS helps ponies, sheep and cattle in danger or distress on Dartmoor. Volunteers are on hand to respond to calls from the public about animals injured in road traffic accidents.

The DLPS also help to support Livestock Protection Officer, Karla McKechnie, who is on emergency call to follow up incidents of sheep worrying.

Karla said: ‘We obviously have a problem considering 63 road traffic accidents involving animals have taken place so far this year. The B3212 from Yelverton to Postbridge is one of the worst areas for incidents as it’s miles and miles of unfenced roads.

‘I was looking on a group on social media and saw a picture of a reindeer with glowing antlers and contacted the woman who had uploaded the photo. It turned out that they had used an aerosol paint and we didn’t want to do that, so we contacted a local supplier to see if they could suggest something.

‘They created a pro mark paint which is safe to be used on the ponies and cows. We have only tested it on a few ponies so far to see if the paint will last as ponies and cows both shed their coats during the spring but if we can use it in the worst three months for accidents, during the winter, we will.

‘If it stays we will be lacing it in the future with reflective beading, so the paint will act as an adhesive.

‘It is rather early days. The paint has been on the ponies for three weeks so far and it’s still very much there and very vivid but we are interested to see if it will stay during the rain and storms.

‘People seem to forget that Dartmoor is still very much a working landscape and that animals take priority despite the recreational uses of the land.’

Mike Nendick from Dartmoor National Park Authority said: ‘The National Park Authority is very much supportive of this initiative. We have had around 60 animals deaths on Dartmoor as a whole so far this year. At this time of year, when the clocks are changing and it’s getting darker outside we need to remind people to drive sensibly.

‘We hope that crossing a cattle grid acts as a reminder to the public that animals will be nearby and perhaps on the road. People need to be adjusting their speed and driving safely for the conditions.’

The first trial of the scheme has been funded by the DLPS.