Law enforcement agencies in the UK have detained 118 activists from the animal protection movement Animal Rising after a protest at the Aintree Racecourse in the north of England. This is reported by TASS with reference to the Merseyside County Police.
“A total of 118 people were detained on suspicion of causing <…> damage and disorderly conduct,” said Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Paul White. The police stressed that they “respect the right to peaceful protest and expression, but will not tolerate criminal behavior and riots.”
Animal Rising activists on Saturday disrupted the start of one of the UK’s most prestigious horse races, the Grand National, held annually at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool in the presence of more than 70,000 people. Several animal rights activists managed to get onto the race track, causing the start of the main race to be delayed by about 12 minutes. It is noted that three more Animal Rising activists were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to disturb the peace.
“Our actions are aimed at making people see the big picture: we cannot be called a nation of animal lovers if our values are not confirmed by actions,” said Animal Rising spokesman Nathan McGovern. “We’re taking advantage of this big event to spark a national conversation about broken relationships – not just with horses, but with animals in general.”
More than 60 horses have died at the Aintree Racecourse over the past 23 years, Sky News noted. In particular, on Saturday, after falling while overcoming the first barrier during the main race, horse Hill Sistine died. In addition, two more horses died during lesser-status Grand National races on Thursday and Saturday mornings. According to representatives of Animal Rising, they wanted to avoid such a development of events through their protest action.
Source: Rosbalt
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