Viewers blast Animal Rising activists trying to stop Grand National

‘Total failure!’: TV viewers blast Animal Rising activists for trying to stop the Grand National – and slam the protesters as ‘middle class Tarquins and Jacindas’

• Grand National viewers were not impressed with activist group Animal Rising 
• Read More: Grand National DELAYED as animal protesters storm Aintree course

Television viewers blasted activists for trying to prevent the Grand National from going ahead – branding them as ‘middle class Tarquins and Jacindas’.

The Grand National was postponed following disruptions by animal rights protesters as they broke onto the course in an attempt to prevent the race from taking place.

Activists from Animal Rising, an environmental and animal rights group, were spotted breaking onto the field and trying to climb fences ahead of the race – which is estimated to be watched by 300 million people.

Police officers were seen rushing to the scene to grab the protesters and remove them from the scene. At least 23 people have been arrested. 

Fans of the Grand National did not hesitate to share their anger online following the disruptions.

At least two activists made it onto the racecourse and attempted to glue themselves to the second jump

Handcuffs activists are guarded by police officers during the Grand National at Aintree

Television viewers blasted activists for trying to prevent the Grand National from going ahead, branding their attempts as a ‘total failure’

Twitter user Saxon said: ‘Middle class Tarquins and Jacindas probably got nose bleeds from travelling that far north from the home counties’. 

Richard Neilson argued that the activists must have caused the horses more stress than good as they waited in the sun following delays. 

Read More: Who are the militant animal rights protesters who are storming the Grand National racecourse?

He wrote: ‘I saw one of you weasels crying very funny. Police and security went in hard and fast. Great to see. By the way the horses you claim to love became overheated and stressed with the few minutes delay. You must be so proud?’ 

Chiming in on the activist bashing, Twitter user Heavens Above labelled their protest as a ‘total failure.’

Richard Hamilton said: ‘You  do not care about horses. Your antics caused considerable stress to the horses. You only care about being on tv and your performances during the week proved you aren’t good at that.’ 

Contributing to the debate that the activists only caused distress to the horses, Chris Faulkner said: ‘Congratulations to the idiots at the Grand National that have overly stressed the horses with the delays, so called ‘animal rights’ activists that know little to nothing about horses or the racing community.’

He added: ‘Good job by the Police, lock them up! We’re almost set!’

Scott Ruthven expressed his anger as he said: ‘@AnimalRising should have left you tied to the fence and let the race run…’ 

A massive police response was triggered after two protesters made it onto the course

A user without a name asked the activists: ‘How did you think delaying the race and stressing the horses would have a positive outcome? Genuine question. I understand and respect your cause but this wasn’t the way to go about it.’

James Evans MS said: ‘Wish the media would stop showing the idiots trying to ruin the Grand National.

‘Half of the so called activists are only trying to get on the TV! They are causing unnecessary distress to the horses!’

Ian Rayner added: ‘Not a horse racing fan but even I know that the race horses are extremely well looked after.

‘Animal Rights activists trying to stop the Grand National are making pathetic spectacles of themselves and just attention seekers, get a life you morons.’ 

Animal Rising protestors have brought banners outside of Aintree Racecourse

Two activists are arrested by police outside Aintree’s grounds

At around 5pm, just as the race was in preparation to begin, people carrying ladders could be seen attempting to enter the course while in a separate attempt, some tried to tie or handcuff themselves to jumps on the track.

Officers rushed to the scene and removed the protestors from the scene. 

Activists are protesting against horseracing over animal welfare concerns, as multiple horses often die at major meets such as Aintree each year.

The activists, most of whom are wearing pink T-shirts emblazoned with slogans, seem to have been mostly prevented from getting into Aintree, after attempting to use ladders and their hands to climb barriers.

The activists were labelled as ‘attention seekers’ by angry viewers hoping to enjoy the races

Police escort an animal rights activist from the scene of the racecourse after several attempted to glue themselves to a jump

Members of the police detain a protester as activists tried to block the start of the Grand National

The race was finally underway at around 5.30pm, however, at least one horse went down before the first hurdle, as did a second at the second fence. 

Read More: Hill Sixteen becomes the THIRD horse to die at Aintree in fall at the hurdle

Hill Sixteen, who was running at 66-1, took a fatal fall and sadly is confirmed to have become the third horse to have died at Aintree this weekend.

After the conclusion of the race, Animal Rising posted a video of one of the jumps on social media which showed a horse crashing into the ground at high speed, before lying there unmoving.

This is believed to be of Hill Sixteen. Two jockeys were also unseated in the video, but appeared to be unhurt.

Three horses have so far been put down following injuries at the course this weekend. Horse Dark Raven died after racing on Saturday, the second death at the three-day festival after Envoye Special fell on Thursday.

Source: Read Full Article