AN ALARMING 25 per cent of motorists who hit ponies or cattle on the roads of the New Forest just leave them to suffer or die, new figures have revealed.

The Verderers of the New Forest have confirmed that between January and November this year, 29 motorists who have hit animals hard enough to kill or maim then have just driven away.

That represents roughly a quarter of the total number of injury or death-related accidents involving the animals of the Forest.

They have not even bothered to report the accidents and some ponies have lingered for days before being found in critical conditions and then put down by the agisters who oversee the Forest commoning rights for the Verderers.

The only shred of consolation for the animal-owning commoners is that this year's figure to the end of November is slightly down on the total of 37 for the same period last year. So far, 87 animals have died on the roads of the Forest, where they take legal precedence over vehicles, and between 30 and 40 more have recovered after injury.

But the ones who drove on without reporting the accidents have come under heavy fire from the commoners.

Richard Manley, chairman of the Commoners' Defence Association which represents the owners of the grazing animals, said: "It goes without saying that we are a nation of animal lovers and this kind of thing just doesn't add up."

He also hit back strongly over recent reports claiming that ponies were being served up on Contin-ental dinner tables and commented: "We are being criticised over what is supposed to be happening to the animals and Joe Public is out there knocking them over and not even bothering to see what he has done."

Mr Manley also stressed the importance of commoning to the Forest, with the owners often losing money on the animals they keep.

"We are subsidising the Forest to the tune of I don't know how much," he said.

He also pointed out that when an animal is killed or put down bec-ause of its injuries, the commoner has to pay a fee to have it collected.

"Staff of New Forest Foxhounds do a fantastic job for us and charge as little as they can. But if an animal is collected by a commercial operator it will cost between £150 and £200," he said.