At the Grand National Festival, Britain’s largest and most prestigious equestrian event, 118 protesters have been arrested. Report that British media Saturday. These are animal activists who protested against the horse race in British Aintree, in which 61 horses have died since 2000. Three horses also died during the 175th edition of the horse race this week.
During the three-day festival, which started on Thursday, most activists protested non-violently at the entrance to the site. On Saturday, the day of the Grand National main race, some activists managed to enter the grounds. Of these, nine activists managed to climb over the fence at the racing track with ladders. Two of these attempted to attach themselves to fences with glue and locks in an attempt to stop the race.
Despite the disturbances, the race was only delayed by fifteen minutes, with the big winner being the Scottish horse Corach Rambler. But the festival also claimed the lives of three horses this year. The first horse died on Thursday when it fell during a fox hunt. Two more horses died on Saturday; one broke both hind legs and had to be put to sleep, the other broke his neck. Two other horses were seriously injured and were taken away with the horse ambulance, nothing is yet known about their condition.
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British culture
The Grand National Festival is deeply embedded in British culture. The thousands of visitors often come in fancy outfits to the 200-year-old Aintree Grand National Race Course, near Liverpool, where people bet on their favorite horses. These amounts run into the millions every year. The horse event has so far claimed one human life, that of jockey Joe Wynne in 1862.
The racecourse in Aintree has a total of sixteen obstacles, which jockeys have to jump over with their horses. The highest obstacle, The Chair, is 1.57 meters high. Sometimes there are still ditches or ditches behind the obstacles. Over the years, certain jumps have been lowered for animal-friendliness, to reduce the number of falls.
The main race, the Grand National, is a so-called ‘handicap steeplechase’. The handicap refers to extra lead weights that faster horses have to carry to keep the competition fair during the steeplechase, where the horses have to jump over obstacles such as hedges and ditches.
Nation of animal lovers
One of the activists, from climate and animal rights group Animal Rising, says to the British newspaper The Guardian that Britain is a ‘nation of animal lovers’, but that this does not correspond to the suffering of the animals during the horse race.
“I know anyone who comes to Aintree today to watch the races would say they love the horses. But the suffering they experience should shock us all. That is why I have decided to place my body between these horses and death on the racetrack, rather than gamble with their lives.”
The British animal rights organization Animal Aid also took part in the demonstrations. In a statement called the organization Aintree a “persistent killer of horses.” However, winner Corach Rambler’s trainer, Lucinda Russell, said the protesters had actually negatively affected the welfare of the horses as they prepared for the race. “The protesters are only doing it for themselves.”