New and stricter TB regulations came into force in January this year, and we are still in discussions with the relevant organisations as to how exactly this will affect the grazing on Castle Bottom. It has therefore been decided that, since the site was grazed by a fairly large herd last year, we will relax the grazing this year and only have ponies on the reserve, from May-November (with exact dates depending on weather and conditions).
Additionally, due to the prevailing cold, and the subsequent lack of vegetative growth, the grazing season will be slightly delayed this year. At the moment we are looking to start at the beginning of May, but we will be keeping an eye on vegetation growth up until then, and will be in contact with the grazier as soon as it looks like there will be plenty of food on site for them to eat.
We will still be running the Lookering programme, so please do get in touch if you are interested in helping us to check on the ponies once they're on site! At the moment, we are hoping for the same ponies as last year, since they were such good-natured animals. More will be confirmed on this as soon as we have any more information.
Until then, if you have any questions, you can either comment on this post, or email us directly at: northern.sites@hants.gov.uk
All the best,
The Rangers
Find us on Twitter: @YCRangers
