THE recent changes announced by Aintree Racecourse and the British Horseracing Authority to the Grand National amount, in Animal Aid’s view, to nothing more than ineffectual tinkering.
The four key changes to the course - which amount to the lowering of the drop on two of the jumps, reducing the height of one obstacle and increasing the height of the orangecoloured take-off board — fall depressingly short of any genuine attempt to address the carnage of the Grand National race.
Despite much heralded improvements over the years, Animal Aid’s new analysis of the history of the race reveals that, in recent years, the risk of a horse dying in the race has increased rather than diminished.
In the last decade, nine horses have been killed in the Grand National, with two of those deaths occurring during this year’s race in April.
The Grand National remains an unreformable, anachronistic and immoral spectacle that should never be run again.
Readers who would like a copy of Animal Aid’s analysis of the Grand National can obtain one, free of charge, by contacting the office on 01732 364546 or emailing info@animalaid.org.uk and asking for a copy of our Ban the Grand National information pack.
Fiona Pereira
Campaigner Animal Aid
