BEAULIEU Road Pony Sale takes place today (Thursday) amid controversy over the fate of the New Forest ponies being sold there.

With the BSE crisis increasing on the Continent, and with the French already known for their love of horsemeat, it's feared that New Forest Pony Bourguignon could be seen as a cheap substitute for its beefy counterpart.

Animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming fears that many of the ponies sold at Beaulieu Road today will find their way onto foreign dinner plates.

"Horses cannot be legally exported live to the Continent because of the Minimum Value Order (MVO) which does not allow you to export live horses under a certain value," said CIWF spokesman Justin Wilkes.

"But this doesn't apply to Northern Ireland, and we believe there may be a legal loophole which allows horses to be exported via this route to the Continent."

The charity claims it has sent undercover investigators to livestock markets, including the Beaulieu Road sales, with covert cameras, and filmed 'illegal' transactions of which the organisers were unaware.

"All kinds of ponies, including mares and foals, have changed hands this way," said Justin.

"The vast majority of tourists would be horrified if they knew that these ponies were going for slaughter," he added.

"It could be so upsetting for some that they would not want to visit the Forest."

The Minimum Value Order does not prevent ponies being slaughtered in this country and their meat sent abroad.

And CIWF is forecasting an increase in the number of New Forest ponies being slaughtered and sent to the Continent this way.

"Ponies can sell for as little as £1 - it's very low quality meat which will be used for sausages and similar products," said Mr Wilkes.

"We would like the Government to have a radical re-think about ponies on the Forest.

"There are 3,500 of them, which is far too many.

"We would be opposed to culling them, but there should be steps taken, such as castrating the stallions, to cut down on the numbers being born.

"Maybe National Park status might make some difference, but that's uncertain."

Mr Wilkes dismissed the idea that mares could be difficult to catch for contraceptive injections.

"If ponies can be rounded up for the Beaulieu Road sales, they could equally well be rounded up for contraceptive treatment," he said.

Sue Westwood, Clerk to the Verderers, said the matter was something which would have to be aired at the monthly Verderers' Court.

"All I will say is that the Verderers' main concern is that animals are humanely treated," she said.

And Richard Manley, Chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association, said he could not speak for individual Commoners.

"Some may be dead against ponies going for meat whilst others will have a very different view," he said.

"There is a massive excess of equines globally," he said.

"The ponies on the Forest are doing a job of work, maintaining the Forest, and I'm very happy with the way the Commoners are running their animals under very difficult circumstances.

"As far as the export of animals is concerned, it's down to the individual Commoner.

"If they send their animals to Beaulieu Road, they cannot dictate who buys them, so they have no control.

"But little colt foals are not going to end up on a plate in France."