Dog and Horse Owners Hold Protest

DOG AND HORSE OWNERS PROTEST TURNS INTO CAMPAIGN TO ABOLISH NATIONAL PARK

By Neil Burton

They turned up in their hundreds, dog owners, horse owners, walkers, residents and visitors alike to the New Forest in a variety of breeds, shapes, sizes and species protesting through the newly formed Forest Uprising Group (F.U.G) and the New Forest Dog Owners Group (NFDOG) at the National Park Authority’s (NPA) controversial consultation document that aims to restrict horse ownership and curtail dog walking in certain areas of the New Forest that are under the control of the NPA.

Aptly the location for the rally was the Wilverley Plain area of the New Forest which is a central area of the forest.

In relation to restricting dog walking in the New Forest, the document identifies the perceived need for the closure of certain car parks to make areas of the forest dog free.

Horse owners are expected to apply for planning permission to keep a horse within the NPA boundaries and the amount of grazing per equine one hectare (2.4 acres) is seen as a danger to them through laminitis and other issues.

Joining speakers from both F.U.G and NFDOG, the British Horse Society and concerned members of the public were the New Forest’s two Members of Parliament, Dr Julian Lewis and Desmond Swayne who presented a united front and called for the abolition of the unelected NPA who according to Desmond Swayne MP ‘like to tell people what to do, but put two fingers up to those who question them’.

The consultation report was also slated as ‘incomprehensible jargon that when translated into plain English does not actually say what is written, by Dr Lewis.

The report was further criticised by Mr Swayne ‘as being written by people who have never kept a horse or walked a dog’ and shows that the NPA is totally out of touch and there is only one solution, get rid of it!

The report that took a number of years to write by a team of consultants from Bristol only has a consultation period of ten weeks in which people can respond which had angered many people.

F.U.G. are considering a legal challenge to the report that closes the consultation period on 31st October 2008.

The combined efforts of dog and horse owners in this instance have resulted in people power versus an unelected organisation that people of all political persuasions are now fighting for the abolition of. The NFNPA is a government imposed organisation and the first National Park for 50 years.

Perhaps it is a sign to elected and unelected agencies that they really do need to find out what in this case dog and horse owners who are in fact voters at local and national level really want.

www.forestuprising.org.uk