Animal Rising Activists Storm Aintree

Madelaine Stannard reports on animal rights protests at this years’ Grand National, and investigates the sordid history of the racing industry.

Image Credit: marlenka (Pixabay)

The 2023 Grand National at Aintree was severely disrupted last week by animal rights activists, with 118 arrests made as protestors caused chaos on the course. A sister group of Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rising activists employed a number of tactics including cuffing themselves to the fences, with the intention of stopping the race from going ahead.

Animal Rising, aiming to abolish harm to exploited animals, uses peaceful, non-violent tactics - but that does not mean those which are not disruptive. Further, it isn’t just about opposition to the injuries and deaths that inevitably occur within the sport, because Animal Rising, a voice for the voiceless, wants to stand up against the systemic abuse suffered by animals within the food and farming industry, but also sport. With this intention, Animal Rising and their actions at Aintree stand to spark a discussion about the use of animals as though they are commodities, and to comment on the stresses faced by horses within the industry.

“We’re not interested in improving the industry,” said Animal Rising in this article. “We believe that no animals should be used or exploited.”

The fourteen-minute delay caused by the action was met with outrage from racegoers, jockeys and trainers, while those in support of Animal Rising, and those who have long championed the sports’ abolition, gave their backing.

But the event and the disturbances that ensued pose an interesting question: why is it that such a beloved industry receives such intense criticism? Over 44,000 people attended Ladies Day at Aintree this year, and more than 600 million people across the world regularly tune in to watch the broadcasts. And yet, there are articles and damning reports published by animal rights organisations, like PETA, and other charities such as the League Against Cruel Sports, on the regular.

I attended the races once in my lifetime, when I was simply a little girl in love with horses, dreaming of the next weekend when I would descend upon the stables again. It was exciting, it was atmospheric, it was powerful, but it was also this: the horses I so loved, bleeding from their faces as the jockeys spurred them on with whips. The unspoken worry among the spectators that an animal would be injured.

Corach Rambler was the lucky Thoroughbred that won the 2023 Grand National, completing the race with jockey Derek Fox (which is just one race among many at the 2023 Randox Grand National Festival). The horses that weren’t so lucky at this year’s gathering were Hill Sixteen, Dark Raven, Castle Robin, Envoye Special, Cape Gentleman and Recite a Prayer , all of which were fatally injured or suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of jump racing, at just one singular festival.

Six horses, the tip of the iceberg. Three horses dead, and numerous others injured, in just three days.

Horseracing becomes much more sinister when spectators have to wonder - how many will survive? Credit: Pixabay

An article by Joe Drape, written for The New York Times, said this to the people facilitating the industry: “You are fooling only yourself if you think the whole world isn’t aware of and repulsed by what nasty business you allow to go on inside your sport.”

Perhaps now, more than ever, these words hold power.

Responses from jockeys and trainers to the protests include this quote from world-famous champion jockey, AP McCoy, who said in an article for The Guardian “Let’s bring out 20 horses and give these protestors one each and see how they get on. What are they going to do? Bring them home and put them in their gardens?”

McCoy also argued that like humans, horses have a purpose in life. Controversially, he said that “ When people go to work, sometimes bad things happen”, insinuating that the terrible fatalities and the injuries suffered by racehorses as part of the industry, are simply part and parcel of the horses’ job.

It is Animal Rising’s intention to challenge these beliefs with their protests, but it is impossible to write about recent events without taking a closer look at some of the criticisms of their actions too. Concerns were raised by those involved with the organisation of the festival, as well as many jockeys, arguing that Animal Rising’s actions border on, if not encroach, hypocritical territory.

Many believe that protest groups are undermining their points by endangering the horses’ welfare, with Cameron Sword of Corach Rambler’s owning syndicate raging how “making the horses wait out in the sun for longer makes no sense”.

Racing has a long, and tiring, history of animal cruelty. That’s not to say that the vast majority of people involved in the sport don’t care for their horses, don’t treat them with respect and with their welfare in mind. But the facts and the figures speak for themselves. Since the start of the millennium, 62 racehorses have died at Aintree Festival alone.

And what of the other races, the other events and festivals, happening not just in the UK, but all across the world?

Cheltenham Festival is the other major event in the horse racing calendar that garners huge amounts of public attention - since 2019, there have been some reforms aiming to make the race safer and less intense for the animals involved. Horses and jockeys must now meet an experience requirement before they are allowed to race, and the number of jumps has been reduced from 25 to 23. One mile has been knocked off the length of the race, with all of these rules hoping to reduce the risk faced by horses and by nature of the competition, their jockeys too.

Yet since 2020, when the new Cheltenham regulations came into play, six horses have died at the iconic festival. The phrase used to report on these deaths?

Destroyed.

It is likely that the world will never settle this disagreement about the dangers of horse racing, and the ethics involved, as each year the casualties continue to pile up. It is somewhat a nuanced issue, with numerous perspectives fighting to be heard, but one thing is for certain - next years’ Grand National will inevitably bring more deaths, and can the industry really bear more blood on its hands?

About the Author: Madelaine is based in Sheffield, studying a Bsc in Zoology with a keen interest in animal behaviour, endangered species recovery and science communication. You can find her on Instagram @maddie_stannard_wild for wildlife photography and sci-comms, or on her website Maddie Stannard Wild.