The British Horseracing Authority have hit out at ITV for leaving them out of a debate around protests scheduled to take place at the Grand National this weekend.
Protest group Animal Rising have called on the public to support their efforts to disrupt the showpiece event at Aintree this Saturday. They were featured on Tuesday's episode of Good Morning Britain, slamming the sport of horseracing.
But the BHA was not invited on alongside the protest group, much to their frustration. Now, the regulatory authority have hit out at both ITV and Animal Rising, insisting that it is "proud" of the role it plays in improving animal welfare.
"British racing was not offered the opportunity to put up a spokesperson for this debate. We have contacted producers at GMB to request that an opportunity is provided to redress the balance," a statement from the group read.
"Everyone involved in British racing is rightly proud of our sport and the role it plays in providing an unparalleled quality of life for horses bred for racing. Love and respect for horses underpins the work of everybody in the sport.
"It is recognised by the Government as one of Britain’s best regulated animal activities, and the use of horses in sport when correct welfare standards are in place is endorsed by genuine welfare charities.
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"While we respect the rights of anyone to protest safely and legally, we condemn any action which is illegal, especially if it puts at risk the safety of horses, jockeys, officials or the thousands of fans who rightly want to enjoy one of the greatest sporting events in the world.
"The idea that a potentially dangerous stunt which could harm horses is in any way beneficial for their welfare is clearly wrong."
Volunteer Orla Coghlan was the representative of Animal Rising who was featured on GMB. Coghlan was adamant that a protest was the right thing to do given the number of horses who have died at Aintree.
"We're trying to do two main things by disrupting this race. We care very much about animals and we're trying to protect those horses by being there on the tracks," Coghlan said.
"Secondly we want to have this public conversation - I'm sure million families are having these conversations around breakfast - so I think it is quite an effective way to protest. We know every other day a horse days in horse racing in the UK.
"Also since, I think the year 2000, 50 horses have died at Aintree alone. We're going to be turning up outside the gates at Aintree at 9.30am on Saturday and we'd encourage any other animal lovers to be there with us," she added.
"Originally I think we had about 100 people involved in the protest, now we've got around 300 people. I'm not sure what the exact tactics will be on the day, I'd welcome anybody to come down and be part of it."
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