Sixty-five animal rights activists are to be bailed after they were arrested while trying to storm Aintree racecourse.
118 people, aged between 18 and 66-years-old, were arrested yesterday, Saturday April 15, after large numbers of protesters attempted to put a halt to the flagship Grand National race, with the aim of preventing possible horse deaths. Nine people managed to breach the security fence and run onto the course, and it was reported that at least two attached themselves to a jump using glue and lock-on devices.
Meanwhile, more protesters from animal rights group Animal Rising moved onto the northbound carriageway of the M57, causing long delays as traffic was diverted around them.
READ MORE: RSPCA calls for urgent review into Grand National horse deaths
They were arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including conspiracy to cause public nuisance, obstructing highways and possession of controlled drugs.
Merseyside Police has now confirmed that 65 people were taken into custody following the arrests, and will be bailed pending further enquiries.
Assistant chief constable Paul White said: “The Grand National race was temporarily delayed for a short period of time while officers dealt with protestors who attempted to gain entry onto Aintree racecourse, and this was across the whole site which covers an extensive perimeter of around 5km which in parts is open land.
“As you can understand, the safety and wellbeing of everyone is of paramount concern when dealing with large-scale public events such as this, and this includes those who are protesting.
“To put into perspective, it is estimated that around 70,000 visitors attended the Grand National and the event went safely with an enjoyable atmosphere despite the short interruption from protestors.
“We had a robust plan in place to deal with incidents, and as such our officers and security staff were able to quickly deal with the situation in a safe and appropriate manner.
“It is also important to add that we respect the right to a peaceful protest and expression of views, but criminal behaviour and disorder will not be tolerated and sadly this is what took place at yesterday’s event in an attempt to disrupt the race which resulted in the arrests."
Some of the arrested campaigners travelled from Kent, Southampton, London, Essex, Swansea, Falkirk and Glasgow to take part in the Animal Rising protest. In an earlier statement, the group said 42 of the 118 arrested people were let go yesterday, and that nobody has been charged "so far".
Three racehorses died in this year's races, starting with Envoye Special, who suffered a fall in the Foxhunters Chase on Thursday. Dark Raven was the second fatality after falling in the Mersey Novices' Hurdle yesterday, and Hill Sixteen suffered a broken neck at the first fence in the flagship Grand National.
The feature race was won by bookies favourite Corach Rambler, trained by Lucinda Russell and ridden by Derek Fox.
An Animal Rising spokesman said: "The actions taken at Aintree yesterday aimed to prevent harm from coming to horses in The Grand National, with Hill Sixteen sadly falling in the race itself - a death that would’ve been prevented if the race had not been run. Supporters of Animal Rising do not take the risk of arrest lightly, but taking action to protect animals and nature is more important than upholding business-as-usual.
“This is just the start of many peaceful actions to really create a national conversation about our fractured connection with animals and our natural world this summer, whether they result in arrests or not.”
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