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Dartmoor Ponies Daubed With Glow-In-Dark Paint

Dartmoor Ponies Daubed With Glow-In-Dark Paint

Wild ponies on Dartmoor are to be daubed with reflective paint to cut the number killed by cars every year.

The animals will have stripes painted on their sides so they glow in the headlights of oncoming vehicles like cat's eyes.

The idea came from a scheme in Finland where reindeer antlers were painted to make it easier for drivers to see them.

Karla Mckechnie, from the Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS), hopes it will have a similar success on south Devon's wild moorland.

"So far there have been 63 livestock fatalities on the roads here this year," she told Sky News.

"The ponies are especially at risk in winter because they come down from the moors to escape the cold.

"They like to lick the salt from the gritted roads - they get a taste for the salt - and some get hit by vehicles."

The livestock protection officer said the trial has already started on two privately-owned ponies.

Both have been daubed with durable blue paint used on sheep, and if it stays on, reflective beading will be painted on later.

Ms Mckechnie said the pair are kept in an area similar to the rough weather conditions wild ponies experience on the moors so it will be the "perfect experiment".

If it works, the charity hopes to paint reflective beads on around 200 wild ponies ahead of the bitter winter months.