BRANDING irons should continue to be used on New Forest ponies despite impending government legislation outlawing mutilation of animals, the Court of Verderers has decided.

Ponies are still branded with hot irons to enable the commoners, who own the animals and agisters who look after their welfare, to identify stock.

However, the Animal Welfare Bill, which is now in draft form, will make mutilation of animals, such as branding, illegal unless the process can be justified on welfare or good management grounds.

Now Verderers are hoping an exemption can be made for branding semi-wild ponies. At the Verderers' Court in Lyndhurst, Official Verderer Oliver Crosthwaite Eyre has already held a meeting with government officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), where the reasons for branding and the methods used were explained.

Representatives of the New Forest Commoners' Defence Association, the Dartmoor Commoners' Council and pony owners from Exmoor also attended the meeting.

"We are hopeful that together we have been able to explain the very real need for the clear identification of ponies within England's semi-feral herds, and why branding is the best method available of achieving this aim," said Mr Crosthwaite Eyre.

"We have formally requested that an exception therefore should be made in the forthcoming Animal Welfare Bill, which will allow branding to continue in the forest.

"Since the meeting, a Defra vet has been given a branding demonstration by head agister Jonathan Gerrelli. Mr Gerrelli believes exceptions of hot iron and freeze branding of ponies and cattle should be made and insisted the process was not painful

"It's only on the animal for literally a couple of seconds. They suffer no ill effects and when you let them go, they go on grazing. The hot brand does burn the hide. The hair will grow over and all you're left with on a smooth summer coat is the outline of the brand."