Feeding Wales' wild mountain ponies 'could be killing them'

TV farmer Gareth Wyn Jones has warned people not to feed wild ponies as it "could be killing them".

A group which looks after the animals say piles of carrots have been found left for them in the Sychnant Pass, near Conwy.

Experts believe the ponies' digestive systems aren't able to cope with food such as carrots or apples and risk developing horse colic.

Symptoms include excessive sweating, lying down often and a poor appetite.

A mare and her foal had recently to be taken off the mountains this week because the foal was unwell.

Vets are still trying to work out if the illness was caused by something the pair had eaten.

"Carrots have been found in piles around the Sychnant Pass twice now," said Mr Jones, who is secretary of Carneddau Pony Society, a group of farmers who "manages" them.

"But the ponies' digestion system will not break them down. It's not what these animals are supposed to eat."

Mr Jones said the ponies normally eat the grass on the mountains.

"When people take food for them, they don't realise the damage they could be doing," Mr Jones said.

"Please, please don't feed these ponies - it's not helping them, it could be killing them."

The ponies have roamed over the Carneddau mountains for centuries, and live in an area of 13,500 acres between Bethesda, Llanfairfechan, Capel Curig and Conwy.

Mr Jones said: "These ponies have been born and bred up here since the Celtic times - their stomachs are used to eating the coarse vegetation.

"People look at them this time of year, and maybe they think they look a little bit thin because they're just coming out of the winter and they've got foals.

"We haven't had the information back about this young foal yet, but it was quite weak.

"It's all happening in the same area, that's what's starting to ring alarm bells that people are going out and feeding them."