Gemma Collins has warned her fans not to feed or stroke ponies at the New Forest after she faced a fierce social media backlash for hugging one of the animals.
In a now deleted Instagram post to her two million followers, the former Towie star, 44, was seen with her arm dangled around the free-roaming pony’s neck and her head resting on top of the animal.
She gushed about having ‘magical moments with the horses’ as she shared snaps from her day out at the national park.
But people reacted with anger and reminded her there were ‘hundreds of signs’ dotted around telling people not to feed or pet the ponies.
Collins later rowed back on her comments and shared a message from what appeared to be from the New Forest National Park Authority asking her to remove the post.
It also asked her, ‘given Gemma’s large following’, to encourage other visitors to keep their distance from the animals.
Collins urged her followers in a separate post not to stroke the horses or feed them, writing: ‘As an animal lover, we must do all we can to support these beautiful horses, coes, donkeys, and cows and keep them safe.’
There are around 5,000 wild ponies roaming around the New Forest that are cared for and owned by locals called commoners.
In a now deleted Instagram post to her two million followers, Gemma Collins, 44, was seen with her arm dangled around the free-roaming pony’s neck and her head resting on top of the animal
Collins later urged her followers not to stroke the horses or feed them, writing: ‘As an animal lover, we must do all we can to support these beautiful horses, coes, donkeys, and cows and keep them safe’
Collins later rowed back on her comments and shared a message from what appeared to be from the New Forest National Park Authority asking her to remove the post
In 2023, the New Forest National Park Authority introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to protect the wildlife.
Anyone caught in breach can be handed a fixed penalty notice of up to £100 or £1,000 if they are hauled to court.
Commenting under Collins’ original post, one Instagram user said: ‘As someone whose family and friends own these ponies in the New Forest there are hundreds of signs telling people to stop feeding and touching the ponies, they are wild ponies and unpredictable.
‘You can get a £1,000 fine and it encourages bad behaviour meaning they get taken off the forest and even worse hit by cars.
‘Maybe do your research beforehand.’
Another user added: ‘I hope you receive a fine for this silly behaviour.’
In a statement on the New Forest National Park’s website, it states: ‘The public are being asked not to feed or touch the New Forest’s free roaming ponies and donkeys when they visit the area.
‘Doing so was made a fineable offence in 2023, in the wake of a series of injuries to the public and several animals dying after being fed human food.
‘Two Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) were introduced by New Forest District Council in July 2023.
Collins (pictured here recently debuting a new look) faced fierce backlash for sharing a picture of herself hugging a wild pony in the New Forest
Collins in 2021 was pictured posing with a Shetland pony on a leash as she declared she had become a ‘horse mummy’
‘The first prohibits feeding and petting ponies or donkeys, and the second aims to protect the forest from wildfires by banning BBQs and fires.
‘Anyone carrying out these activities is liable for a fixed penalty fine of £100, rising to £1,000 following a successful prosecution.’
Collins in 2021 was pictured posing with two Shetland ponies on leashes as she declared she had become a ‘horse mummy’.
Two years earlier, the RSPCA ‘affectionately’ named a dumped Shetland pony with badly overgrown hooves after the former Dancing on Ice star.
It was dubbed Collin when rescuers said it ‘looked like he was walking on ice’ when they first found the horse.
The RSPCA said it had a ‘fabulous mane, and a cheeky, tenacious personality’ like its namesake.
