I have attached below for your information an email sent from our Director of Community & Environment to Council

Members earlier this week, which I hope provides you with the background on this matter. Yours sincerely Catherine Luff Three Rivers District Council Customer Services Centre E-mail: Enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk FAX: 01923 896119 Tel: 01923 776611 (8am - 6pm, Mon to Fri) On Tuesday 4 March our animal control enforcement officer received a call that 2 horses were loose in the grounds of Leavesden Country Park. She arrived on site at approximately 1.30pm and met up with the Park Ranger. They came across 2 ponies on the football pitch and tried unsuccessfully to approach them. Numerous attempts were made including trying to lure the ponies with food, however the ponies were excitable and broke into a run whenever anyone moved towards them. They appeared to be wild. As there were many people in the park including loose dogs the officers called for assistance from an equine welfare agency. When help arrived attempts were again made to get near the ponies whilst keeping members of the public and their dogs away. Officers called 101 for the Police as it appeared the ponies would get onto Bedmond Road. When the Police Intervention Officer arrived he advised that he was concerned about the ponies getting onto the road. The TRDC officers explained a plan to create a corral using crash barriers from the Council Depot, however this would not have been possible until the next day as by this time the Depot was closed. The Police Officer advised he was not happy to leave the ponies overnight. Several people did offer their help and one call was presented by a third party as being from the owners saying that if everyone left the site they would come and collect the ponies. This was not practical to achieve however. A slaughterman was eventually called and whilst he did arrive on a quad bike he did not chase the ponies or cause them to be even more excitable. The Police cleared the site of members of the public and had officers on points to prevent people walking in. The first pony was shot with a single round. The slaughterman did follow the second pony which ran for a short distance and was then dispatched again with a single shot. The use of tranquilisers was not considered appropriate as the ponies could still have run and caused an accident after being darted. I appreciate that this was an unfortunate situation however officers did not have any option given the circumstances and correct procedures were followed. One of the ponies was subsequently found to be chipped, however there was no phone number and an old address. No reports have been received of missing ponies since the incident. Offers of help from third parties were made however it would be inappropriate to take these up in such situations for insurance reasons alone. Had the ponies got out onto surrounding roads and caused an accident or even hurt someone in the Park there could have been even more severe consequences. Regards, Geof Muggeridge Director of Community & Environmental Services
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