Thank you. Since last week, over 7,500 of you have signed my letter to protect Exmoor ponies. Because of that pressure, I have good news. I wrote to Natural England and asked them straight. They have now confirmed, in writing, that there are no current plans to change grazing on Exmoor, and they recognise the Exmoor pony as a rare breed and a vital conservation grazer. Exmoor National Park has said the same. This isn't the end. I have outstanding freedom of information requests from Defra and the Rural Payments Agency, who run the funding schemes, to make sure those reassurances hold for the long term. There is something lasting you can do TODAY! Exmoor Ponies came back from just 50 animals after the Second World War, and the breed's gene pool is still fragile. The Exmoor Pony Society is building a gene bank so we never come that close to losing them again. Donate and help secure the future of the breed.

Good news. But what a crazy world we live in, we’ve been paying farmers for decades to trash wildlife and the countryside, in the name of industrial food production - growing ever greater amounts of crops to feed to ever greater numbers of animals in factory farms - to achieve ever greater diminishing returns, nutritionally - as well as degradation of nature. A recent report from Compassion in World Farming makes this clear - if we stopped feeding the cereals we grow to animals and fed humans instead - we could feed 16 million more people using the same amount of land. We need to change what we chew. This new support is a welcome step. gov.uk/government/news/290m-…

Great Britain has banned live exports; now we need the same thing to happen all around the globe. Find out more and take action. ⬇️ @ChrisGPackham #BanLiveExports ciwf.org.uk/news/joanna-luml…

This looks like opportunism to me. Will the country be safer with John Healey gone, will the defence budget issues somehow get resolved…? Nah, this is posturing for self gain - in my view. Worse part - it undermines the government at a time when we have so much to deal with as a nation - not least, and with deep irony….handling defence threats. Defence Secretary quits, that’ll help. Have to say this though, I think the extent of the threat Russia poses is exaggerated, this rather sudden need for £28 billion seems a bit opportunistic also from the Defence Industry. On the other hand we keep hearing that Russia is losing in Ukraine - can they be a threat to Europe and be losing to Ukraine? theguardian.com/politics/202…

🚨 A cattle TB vaccine is targeted for rollout by 2030 under a new strategy aiming to eradicate bovine TB in England by 2038. Norfolk farmer John Cross, who chaired the steering group behind the strategy, described it as "the best plan for TB freedom we have ever had to date". Do you believe a cattle vaccine can help bring an end to the disease? READ MORE: ow.ly/fEq750Z9NGN

Steve Reed just overruled Slough council and approved a massive data centre. So much for ‘local people know best what their area needs’ 😡

💔 THIS IS HEARTBREAKING. COULD DARTMOOR TRULY LOSE ITS PONIES? 🐴📉 A devastating warning has been issued by campaigners who fear that up to NINETY PERCENT of Dartmoor’s iconic semi-wild hill ponies could completely disappear from the moorland. Over 23,000 people have already signed an emergency petition demanding action to protect them. New rules drawn up by Natural England mean that grazing limits across the moors are being slashed. But here is the catch: campaigners say the famous ponies are being lumped into the exact same livestock quotas as commercial cattle and sheep. Because they are competing for the same reduced space, it's feared farmers will be forced to remove the ponies to make way for more financially viable livestock. The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association warns that numbers have already plummeted from 7,000 to just 900 in the last 25 years. They are already listed as an officially endangered native breed. Campaigners warn that once they are gone from the moor, they are gone forever. Natural England says they want to ensure "optimal numbers" remain and that ponies are vital for restoring the landscape—but officials confirm they must be included in the total livestock count. Dartmoor simply wouldn’t be Dartmoor without the ponies. Do you think it’s fair to treat these historic animals the same as farm livestock? 📸 Ben Ivory / Getty Images

Denmark's new government just announced major pig welfare reforms. They're banning the practices of restraining sows in farrowing crates, breeding them beyond their natural limits, and cutting off piglets' tails. They're also requiring pigs get more space and rooting material. And they're stepping up farm inspections and penalties for cruelty. All while the US Congress is trying to wipe out the few state laws that protect pigs via the Save Our Bacon Act buried in the farm bill. Denmark just showed what's possible for pigs when voters demand it — and politicians listen.

Tail docking is a mutilation – prohibited by Section 5 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, Section 5 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, and Section 20 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. It may only be performed as a last resort as laid out by the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007, and the equivalent legislation in the rest of the UK, after measures to improve environmental conditions or management have been taken to prevent tail-biting. Even then, there must be evidence that biting injuries have actually occurred. Yet 72 to 85% of commercially raised pigs in the UK have their tail mutilated, showing the law is being ignored at scale. 🧵

Ammonia pollution is harmful to our health, linked to strokes, heart disease and lung cancer. Factory farming is a major source - pumping this pollution into the air we all share. This is being driven by a system that forces local farms to sell up to large commercial interests that often put profit before our natural environment. I’ve written to the Government urging them to change course and prioritise farming that protects our health, environment and food security, rather than backing the expansion of factory farming. That means properly supporting farmers and investing in sustainable farming systems that work with nature - not policies that drive market concentration and environmental harm.

Tell Tesco to stop paying Cranswick to kill pigs in gas chambers. ✍️bit.ly/4wLpULv #BanCO2GasChambers #EndFactoryFarms #Tesco #ProjectSlingshot

Meet Inge Vleemingh, a Dutch farmer showing that cage-free and nature friendly farming go hand in hand! 💚🌱 Inge is backing our calls to #EndTheCageAge for farmed animals across the EU and beyond. 👏

How much louder do the experts have to shout before the government listens on #FoodSecurity? No, we can't just rely on "the market", we need to produce far more of our own, and stop the #FoodWaste of #FactoryFarming theguardian.com/environment/…

Britain is ‘sleepwalking into a food crisis’. Security advisors have warned that food shortages are just years away. And last year, we exposed how factory farming is ‘the world’s biggest cause of food waste’. What will it take for policymakers to listen? theguardian.com/environment/…