Just like the Grand National at Aintree, protestor group Animal Rising have stormed the Scottish Grand National in Ayr in a bid to cause further disruptions. The incident took place just hours after eight-year-old horse Oscar Elite died at the same track as the protestors attempted to put a stop to the race.
On-duty police were on hand to tackle the protesters immediately and it appears several arrests were made as security came down hard on the activists, removing them from the track with heavy force.
Cars were also seen racing around the perimeter in a bid to keep the race on track as the authorities quickly descended upon the scene to clamp down on those attempting to cause disruption.
Protesters have been faced with huge backlash this week following last weekend’s events. They were also blamed for the death of Hill Sixteen by the horse’s trainer Sandy Thomson.
He claims the delays “unsettled” every one after the start of the race was delayed by 14 minutes after the activists entered the track. But there were no such delays in Scotland just seven days later where up to 17,000 punters were expected at Ayr Racecourse.
Security was stepped up in anticipation that the protesters could look to target the event but they still had some joy after several activists once again entered the track.
Those involved attempted to attach themselves to jumps in a desperate bid to cancel the race. Despite breaching security measures, the race ended up going ahead as Kitty’s Light reigned supreme.
Animal Rising claim last week’s events at Aintree were “just the beginning” of their passionate campaign – as they continue to plan disruption within the horse racing schedule.
The group’s official Twitter account tweeted: “25 supporters of Animal Rising have made it onto the track at the Scottish Grand National, to put their bodies in the way of harm, and protect animals.
“They’re attempting to attach themselves to jumps and gates in order to cancel the big race.
“This afternoon 8 year old Oscar Elite died on the very same track. We take action today with them in our hearts. A horse dies every other day in racing in the UK.
“We are here to protect horses by saying NO to this barbaric ‘sport.’ There are plenty of other things we can have fun doing on a Saturday afternoon that don’t involve watching animals come to harm.
“Last week at Aintree was just the beginning. The Summer of Animal Rising is upon us.”
Police later confirmed that 118 people were arrested last week at Aintree after nine activists entered the course.
Animal Rising claim their actions were carried out in a bid to “prevent” the death of horses – something that in racing circles is considered to have backfired.
Ben Newman, a spokesperson for Animal Rising, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The real reason the horse was running the race was so that people could bet on the horse, the jockeys could make money and so people could have a fun day out, and that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to put an animal in harm’s way.
“We disrupted the race for two reasons. One was to stop the race to stop a horse dying. Two, to have a conversation about our broken relationship back to animals.”