Activist group Animal Rising has claimed new safety measures at the Grand National are a 'PR exercise' but organisers say they have 'no specific intelligence' of plans to disrupt the famous race
Activist group Animal Rising has claimed new safety measures at the Grand National are a"PR exercise" but organisers say they have"no specific intelligence" of plans to disrupt the famous raceActivists from the Animal Rising group, who delayed the start of last year’s Grand National by nearly 15 minutes after, have said they will not stage further protests this year after claiming they had secured a shift in public opinion against horse racing.
Superintendent Matthew Moscrop, the officer overseeing policing for the race, said: “There are a number of plans in place to deal with any incidents that may arise and to prevent any significant or ongoing disruption to spectators and local residents and businesses.” Among the new measures are a decision to move the first fence closer to the start, thereby reducing the speed at which the horses will reach the obstacle, and a reduced field of 34 rather than 40 runners. The race will also be run from a standing start and take place 75 minutes earlier in an attempt to provide the runners with softer ground.
“Horses have died almost every single year at the Grand National… This continues to be the case in spite of rule changes, which are nothing more than a PR exercise to try to win back public opinion.”
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