‘We have nothing to hide’: Climate protesters plan to disrupt one of the world’s biggest horse races

Activists are planning to disrupt the Grand Nationwide at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool, UK.

An undercover investigation by the Mail on Sunday claimed that “as much as 100” protesters from Animal Insurrection might break into the race.

The newspaper secretly filmed a “coaching” session for 11 activists from the group. It alleges that protesters mentioned plans to climb the fence, glue themselves collectively and block the observe earlier than the horse race on 15 April.

The investigation additionally claims that leaders have recognized weak factors round Aintree the place activists might use ladders or bolt cutters to achieve entry.

Activists nonetheless plan to disrupt the race regardless of the investigation

Animal Insurrection says it nonetheless intends to trigger disruption to the race regardless of the investigation. The group stresses the pressing want to handle our “damaged relationship” with different animals and the pure world.

“After all the preliminary response once we discovered the plan had been printed concerned a stage of shock, and we anticipate there’ll now be some extra challenges in carrying it out,” Claudia Penna-Rojas, Animal Insurrection volunteer and spokesperson, tells Euronews Inexperienced.

However she claims it’s an opportunity for the activists to have a “a lot greater and mandatory dialog with the world”. Animal Insurrection is now calling on 1000’s of animal lovers to hitch them outdoors Aintree racecourse on the 15 April and “make the problem unignorable”.

“We brazenly organise as a result of we’ve got nothing to cover and are comfy realizing our actions are morally simply,” Penna-Rojas provides.

Why do individuals protest on the Grand Nationwide?

“The Grand Nationwide is an occasion watched by animal lovers all around the globe, over 600 million individuals. But we’re watching these animals being whipped and raced to loss of life,” Penna-Rojas claims.

The occasion has an enormous international viewers throughout greater than 1,400 international locations. Final yr it attracted 7.5 million viewers within the UK at its peak and greater than 12 million individuals positioned bets on the race.

Final yr, two horses died within the Grand Nationwide, which is the largest occasion on the three-day racing competition. 4 out of 356 runners have died since 2012 when new security laws had been launched.

These deaths, alongside the big viewers, are a part of the rationale why the Grand Nationwide has change into a spotlight for animal rights activists prior to now.

In an announcement, Merseyside Police stated that they “respect the correct to peaceable protest and expression of views, however public order or prison offences won’t be tolerated and might be handled robustly.”

The police power provides that it has been working with The Jockey Membership, which owns Aintree racecourse, “for numerous months” to make sure that “mandatory plans and processes are in place to take care of any incidents that will come up”.

A part of a ‘a lot greater marketing campaign’

Penna-Rojas says the disruption of the Grand Nationwide “won’t be a standalone occasion”.

“It’s a part of a a lot greater marketing campaign that won’t simply deal with horse racing as a difficulty however our total damaged relationship to animals and the pure world.

“We consider no animal ought to be exploited whether or not that’s for meals or enjoyable, together with outdated practices individuals nonetheless name ‘sport’.”

Animal Insurrection claims that greater than 500 individuals have signed up for coaching to take peaceable motion this summer season. They are saying the objective of this motion is to create a “nationwide dialog” round our relationship with animals and the pure world.