Animal Rising vow 'biggest action yet' will stop the Grand National

‘It’s time to rise up!’: Animal Rising vow that their ‘biggest action yet’ will stop the Grand National today by flooding course with 300 activists in protest that will ‘end horseracing’

• Police said they will ‘robustly’ defend the race from animal rights campaigners 

Eco activist group Animal Rising have vowed that their ‘biggest action yet’ will ‘cancel the Grand National’ later today.

The militant animal rights campaigners said up to 300 activists will flood Aintree Racecourse from 9.30am where they intend to prevent the race from starting.

Last night the group said ‘It’s time to rise up and demand animal justice, for all life’ and said they will be ‘taking direct action to protect the horses’.

They also plan to block traffic by performing a slow march along Ormskirk Road, the main access route.

A spokesperson for the group said the activists will be ‘peacefully attempting’ to climb over fences and walls with the intention of making their way on to the track.

Animal Rising activists plan to scale the fences and enter the track of Aintree Racecourse before the Grand National race begins. Pictured: Horses clear one of the fences in the 2022 edition of the world-famous steeplechase race 

The animal activist group announced their intention to stop the races going ahead

An undercover investigation by the Mail on Sunday previously exposed an Animal Rising plot to have more than 100 members disrupt the Grand National.

Police have already announced they will ‘robustly’ defend the race from the militant vegans and animal rights campaigners.

Nathan McGovern, a spokesperson, said: ‘We do plan to be periodically blocking Ormskirk Road, the access road to the front of the racecourse, to disrupt the entry to the venue throughout the day.

Read more: Undercover investigation exposes plan by up to 100 Animal Rebellion activists to storm the event and glue themselves to the course 

Fact-box text

‘The group of people at the front will be peacefully attempting to make their way over perimeter fences/walls at the front of Aintree before the Grand National race begins with the intention of making their way on to the track.

‘And all of this is before the race even starts. We will not be entering the track if there are horses and jockeys riding.’

Merseyside Police said they have a ‘robust policing plan in place’ and are working with Aintree’s owners The Jockey Club in preparation for any incidents.

One horse has already died at the Grand National Festival – Envoye Special, ridden by James King – after it fell in the Foxhunters’ Chase just after 4pm on Thursday.

It is the 60th horse to have died at Aintree in the past 23 years.

Animal Rising, which changed its name from Animal Rebellion on Monday to move away from the umbrella of Extinction Rebellion, wants to use UK horseracing’s biggest calendar event to highlight the ‘broken relationship’ between humans and animals.

Mr McGovern said: ‘It’s a spotlight that we really need to be using to push a national conversation about our broken relationship, not only with horses but with all the animals that we use, whether that’s for food, fun, entertainment and dog and horse racing.

Jim Edwards (pictured), the former founding editor of the UK website of Business Insider, is involved with militant Animal Rebellion

Merseyside Police has vowed to deal ‘robustly’ with any protesters. Pictured: Armed officers at the entrance of Aintree Racecourse at last year’s Grand National

Police said they respect the right to peaceful protest, but stated ‘criminal offences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly’ (pictured: races yesterday)

‘This is very much about a bigger picture of recognising that, in a nation of animal lovers, we’re not really living up to those values with our actions.’

READ MORE HERE: The business guru turned eco-activist plotting to wreck the Grand National

Animal Rising’s plans for the Grand National first became public when an undercover Mail on Sunday reporter attended a meeting earlier this month.

They said the activists planned to use ladders and bolt cutters to get through Aintree’s perimeter fencing.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: ‘Merseyside Police has a robust policing plan in place for Aintree, as it does for any major public event, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved.

‘We have been working with our partners, including The Jockey Club, for a number of months in the build-up to this year’s festival to ensure that any necessary plans and processes are in place to deal with any incidents that may arise and to prevent any significant or ongoing disruption to racegoers and local residents and businesses.

‘We respect the right to peaceful protest and expression of views, but public order or criminal offences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.’

A spokesperson for the British Horseracing Authority said: ‘While we respect the rights of anyone to protest safely and legally, we condemn any action which is illegal, especially if it puts at risk the safety of horses, jockeys, officials or fans.’

Source: Read Full Article