New Forest barbecue and animal feeding fines approved

Campaigners had previously called for measures to curb environmentally-damaging behaviour

Fines of up to £1,000 for petting ponies or starting a barbecue in the New Forest will come into force in the summer.

New Forest District Council is expected to introduce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) covering much of the national park on 1 July.

Anyone breaching a PSPO can be handed a Fixed Penalty Notice of up to £100 or fined up to £1,000 if the case goes to Southampton Magistrates' Court.

The plans have been given the go-ahead.

The decision by the district council comes as Forestry England previously reported barbecues and campfires were "happening continuously and repeatedly" in the New Forest.

'Extremely detrimental'

It also said that feeding and petting of the forest's free-roaming livestock was "extremely detrimental" to the animals' welfare.

Campaigners had also called for better enforcement of by-laws to curb anti-social and environmentally-damaging behaviour.

The council said that by introducing the new measures, it expected a reduction in anti-social behaviour associated with wildfires and barbecues, and with the feeding and petting of animals.

It said the new formal enforcement would be used "proportionately", with signage set to be in place.

A public consultation on the new PSPOs was carried out at the end of 2022 and found that more than 90% of the participants were in favour of the measures.

The council said all the relevant legal tests had been met and it was therefore appropriate to proceed with the making of the PSPOs.