THE DEVASTATING effects of foot and mouth could herald the end of commoning and the Forest environment as we know it.

The commoners' traditional way of life was under threat before the epidemic, with financial pressures forcing many of them to take on other jobs.

Now, in the aftermath of the crisis several small farmers are being forced to sell up.

Rick Manley, the leader of the Commoners Defence Association (CDA), told the Post: "There are probably only four commoners in the New Forest now who earn their living from commoning.

"My sons James aged 13 and Jack aged 10 don't want to follow me into commoning - they think I need my head examined," he added.

And he also fears the demise of commoning will threaten the Forest's unique landscape: "The commoners' animals are the architects of the Forest. If they weren't there, there wouldn't be a Forest," he explained.

Official Verderer, Maldwin Drummond, has confirmed up to 40 per cent of the Forest's cattle were destroyed as a result of the F&M crisis.

In addition the high cost of forage after the unusually wet winter has led to 30 per cent of the ponies being removed from the Forest. Many commoners are deciding not to re-stock as they simply can't afford it.

Dr Rob Walton from English Nature's Lyndhurst-based team is calling on the government to give commoners more support: "The New Forest's special qualities depend upon continued grazing. It's vitally important to reward commoners for producing the landscape and biodiversity that underpins the local tourist economy," he said.

Mr Manley said he was in favour of financial incentives for commoners but only if backed with an animal welfare scheme, to improve the quality of saleable stock.

Angela Clarke of the New Forest Committee said that a recent meeting of the New Forest Foot and Mouth Liaison group, attended by numerous organisations including the CDA, The Forestry Commission, English Nature and the Verderers, decided an action plan should be drawn up to devise strategies to manage any similar crisis in future.