Greedy pigs to help save holiday ponies
Hundreds of greedy pigs are needed in one of Britain's top holiday spots - to save the lives of its ponies.
An unusually hot and dry summer has created a glut of green acorns, which are poisonous to ponies in the New Forest, Hampshire.
Bosses at the woodland beauty site aim to resolve the problem by transporting pigs to snuffle up the acorns without harm.
They want up to 500 extra to cope with the millions of acorns which have fallen.
The acorns can kill ponies and cattle by damaging their liver. In 1968, 80 ponies and 40 cattle died after over-endulging on them.
The New Forest's annual autumn event, known as Pannage, allows commoners to graze their animals in 94,000 acres of woodland at the National Park in Hampshire.
Jonathan Gerrelli, head agister at the New Forest, said: "The acorns are toxic to the ponies and to the cattle. It can be a very slow lingering death.
"It causes them to have internal bleeding and it affects their major organs.
"It's a very nasty slow death for the ponies and cattle if they gorge on too many acorns."
Only landowners in the area are allowed to send their pigs to graze in the forest.
They must pay £1 for every pig under the Right of Common of Mast, which dates back to medieval times.
In the 19th century, up to 6,000 pigs were turned out to fatten up on acorns and beech mast before slaughter and salting for the winter, compared with fewer than 200 last year.
Mr Gerrelli, who manages and takes care of the ponies, cattle, donkeys and pigs, said:
"The New Forest is a big place, that means there's literally millions of acorns being produced.
"It does seem to be a good year for acorns this year and they are poisonous to the ponies and cattle that roam the forest, but not to the pigs so we are hoping for a good turn out this year."
The Pannage season is about 60 days and is traditionally between September 25 and November 22.
This year it will fall between September 23 and November 26.
The New Forest is a medieval royal hunting area in the south of England created in 1079 by William I, known as William the Conqueror.
