RSPB prefers 'extremely hardy' Polish ponies to native breeds on some Scottish wetland reserves

                                                 

Resilient in  cold and wet conditions  - a Konik pony (photo: Alethe via Wikimedia Commons)

THE RSPB has defended its use of a Polish breed of pony, the Konik, instead of a native Highland breed to graze some of its Scottish reserves - such as the one at Insh Marshes, near Aviemore, in The Cairngorms.

It states: "Restoration of natural landscapes using large herbivores as ecosystem engineers has increased in popularity across Europe. 

"We use native breeds - very successfully - on a number of our sites. 

"From a reserve management perspective, our priority is to find the right animal for each grazing need which will best help us achieve our conservation management objectives. 

"If we can do this using native breeds, then that is the ideal scenario, and this is the case on many of our 224 reserves. 

"For example, at RSPB Abernethy, we have grazing Highland cattle. 

"Initially, at Insh Marshes, we looked to our local community for small grazing herds but found little success with the Highland and Connemara ponies available to us. 

"The Konik (Polish for 'small horse') has proliferated widely across Europe in conservation grazing and has thrived in a diverse range of habitats with favourable characteristics that help it survive harsh winters and wet landscapes, perfect for Insh Marshes. 

"Koniks are extremely hardy and deal with the wetland conditions better than most native British breeds. 

"They are also happy eating very rough grazing that is unappetising to many other breeds. 

"We have a long-standing breeding program of Konics at the RSPB Loch of Strathbeg reserve in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

"After careful consideration, we decided to trial some of their ponies at Insh Marshes reserve in 2019 to help manage our rare and important habitats on the floodplain and we continually monitor their progress. 

"After their arrival, the ponies quickly created new breeding areas For  Lapwing, Redshank, and Curlew. 

"We understand and recognise the importance of native breeds on our landscapes and are committed to using them at other reserves across the UK." 

                                       

Creating habitat for Curlews and Lapwings - the RSPB's Insh Marshes reserve