Six animal rights activists cleared over Grand National protests

"Six animal-welfare campaigners have been cleared of causing a public nuisance over protests they staged at the Grand National. Nine activists climbed perimeter fences at Aintree in 2023 and went onto the track to demonstrate against the staging of the race. Some attached themselves to jumps as part of the protest, bringing the racecourse to a standstill and delaying the start. Others tried to glue themselves to security fencing around the track, but were led away by police."

"Officers arrested 118 people over disruption for what they said were criminal damage and public nuisance offences. Protesters held anti-cruelty placards (Animal Rising) The protesters claimed racing inflicted cruelty on horses through gruelling training, whipping and painful injuries. Monitoring since 2007 by Animal Aid suggests that at least 3,071 horses have died on UK racecourses. Three died at the Grand National in 2023, and a fourth later allegedly died from an infection following an injury there."

"At Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, the six members of campaign organisation Animal Rising, who had denied causing a public nuisance, were found not guilty by unanimous jury verdicts. A key defence was reasonable excuse, a provision of public nuisance law. The defendants argued that the suffering and deaths of horses justified their actions. Animal Rising said the result showed 12 randomly selected members of the public agreed that disrupting a race to try to prevent horses from coming to harm was not a crime."

Nine activists scaled perimeter fences at Aintree in 2023 and entered the Grand National course, with some attaching themselves to jumps and others attempting to glue themselves to security fencing, halting the race and delaying the start. Police arrested dozens on suspected criminal damage and public nuisance offences. Animal Rising said racing causes cruelty through gruelling training, whipping and injuries, and cited monitoring that indicates thousands of horses have died on UK racecourses, including several linked to the 2023 Grand National. At Liverpool Crown Court six members of Animal Rising were unanimously found not guilty after arguing reasonable excuse to prevent horse suffering.

Read at www.independent.co.uk