Commoners Defence Association chair Andrew Parry-Norton slams former Neighbours star for petting New Forest ponies and sharing footage on Instagram
A FORMER soap star has been branded “utterly irresponsible” after petting and stroking New Forest ponies and the sharing footage with over 130,000 Instagram followers.
April Rose Pengilly, who appeared in the Australian soap Neighbours for four years, shared footage of her stoking and petting donkeys, ponies and foals, which is forbidden under local bylaws.
Describing Ms Pengilly’s actions as “totally irresponsible”, Andrew Parry-Norton the chair of the Commoners Defence Association, said the rules on petting of wild horses were well publicised.
He continued: “It is terrible that someone with such huge influence is behaving in such an appalling way. Ultimately the ponies are wild animals and their behaviour can change suddenly at any minute. She is putting herself at risk.”
“Even worse she is putting the animals at risk as any animals that exhibit aggressive behaviour have to be removed from the Forest and many commoners do not have an alternative space to keep them so the animals could end up being put to sleep.”
Under local bylaws Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), the petting or touching any New Forest pony, horse, mule or donkey is banned, along with feeding or depositing food.
Anyone carrying out these activities is liable for a fixed penalty fine of £100, rising to £1,000 following a successful prosecution.
The order was introduced in 2023 following instances of injuries to the public and animals dying after being fed human food.
Mr Parry Norton continued: “It astounds me that with all the signage and message we put out people are still behaving in this way.”
In the footage Ms Pengilly is shown out on the open forest and in the village of Beaulieu letting ponies and donkeys lick her hands.
The Australian star, who played Chloe Brennan in the soap for four years, has over 134,000 Instagram followers. So far her footage has been liked by over 2,300 people.
In the video’s caption she wrote: “YES there is a magical place where horses and donkeys roam free. We visited The New Forest and it was extremely cute!!!”
“FYI we did NOT feed them as that is not allowed - they came up and nuzzled us so we just gave them a little pat then let them be.”