Next Sale - Thursday 16th August 2012 Download Sales Catalogue Here when available.

Welcome to the New Forest Livestock Society.

Introduction

The Commoners of the New Forest have always sought to control the sale of their stock through sales in the forest. Over the years this has taken many guises and in the last century sales took place in several locations around the Lyndhurst area. Finally, it seemed that the place for pony sales was to be Beaulieu Road, and sales of semi feral and handled stock have taken place here for over 60 years. Originally, the site was on the opposite side of the road to the current sale yard, which was probably due to the train station being located there. Commoners, Agisters and Railway Stewards all helped with the sales and to move stock through the sale yard with many being loaded on to carriages once sold and transported out of the forest.

Sometime after the second world war the yard moved to its current location and the basis of today’s sales started to develop. The yard itself also grew in size with the changes in demand and underwent several partial rebuilds and refurbishments under the auspices of the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society. By the beginning of the new millennium the sale yard and the market in general were enduring tough times. It was clear that in order to ensure the survival of the semi feral sales in the New Forest something dramatic would need to be done.

The Commoners Defence Association and the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society joined forces to start a new organisation, the New Forest Livestock Society with a view to concentrating on the sales and their survival. The initial set up of the new society was made with equal numbers of nominations of members from each of the two founder organisations with an independent chairman.

The NFLS was formed, and since 2001 has gone from strength to strength becoming a company limited by guarantee and forming close working relations with the New Forest Trust who manage its lease with the Forestry Commission and some of its other financial arrangements while continuing to work with its founder organisations where required. The NFLS now run the sale yard, provide stewards for the sales and keep a maintenance schedule in place with the sales run in association with Southern Counties Auctioneers.