Call for urgent review of Aintree horse deaths after Grand National protest

The RSPCA has called on racing authorities to urgently review the deaths of three horses at the Grand National festival as campaigners said it was “just the beginning” of their direct action.

The world’s most famous steeplechase was delayed by 14 minutes when animal rights protesters stormed the track at Aintree on Saturday.

Merseyside police said 118 people had been arrested on suspicion of a range of offences including causing public nuisance and criminal damage.

The protest, in front of 70,000 spectators and a global television audience of millions, came moments before Hill Sixteen died after falling at the first fence of the 175th Grand National.

The 10-year-old gelding was the third horse to die at the three-day festival after Dark Raven and Envoye Special earlier in the annual meeting.

The RSPCA said it would “urgently call” on the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) to review the circumstances of each of the deaths “so that we never again exit a ‘festival of racing’ with three dead horses”.

The charity has previously taken part in detailed reviews of the Grand National over concerns about the safety of the four-mile steeplechase.

But campaigners have called again for jump racing to be banned and “much more stringent” safety measures put in place for the sport after the deaths at Aintree, which Animal Aid called a “prolific killer of horses”.

Animal Rising, the group behind the Grand National protest, said “horrific, heartbreaking deaths” were the “inevitable consequence of exploiting these animals for entertainment – and it has to stop”.

More than 13,000 people had signed its petition to ban the world’s most famous steeplechase as it promised that Saturday’s direct action was “just the beginning”.

The charity Peta