An animal rights group have shared footage of one of their members being arrested by police outside of Aintree racecourse.
Animal Rising, a campaign group opposed to what they claim is abuse of animals by the racing industry, have been protesting outside of the racecourse since this morning. The group’s activists have previously said they plan to scale the fences and enter the track of Aintree Racecourse before the Grand National race begins.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that they have made three arrests today on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. One, a 33-year-old woman from the London area, was arrested in the Greater Manchester area this morning, April 15, in connection with potential co-ordinated disruption activities at Aintree racecourse.
READ MORE: Confirmed full list of 40 runners and riders, racecard, times, tips, and results from Aintree
Two further arrests were made this morning with the force confirming that a woman, a 25-year-old from London, was arrested at about 11.20am. The man was arrested shortly after at approximately 11.50am. According to Merseyside Police, both women are in custody where they will be questioned by officers.
Footage shared by Animal Rising via its Instagram account shows one its members, named as Claudia Penna Roja, being arrested by police outside of the race course. In the video, the protester sits on the floor flanked by two standing officers and then in another clip is shown to be carried away by three officers.
Yesterday Merseyside Police confirmed it has introduced a dispersal zone in Aintree, around Aintree Racecourse, for both Ladies Day and the Grand National. The force posted on its social media channels about the zone being introduced ahead of thousands of people descending on the area.
The order comes under Section 34 of the Anti-Social Behaviour & Policing Act 2014, which gives police officers and police community support traffic officers powers to direct people who are engaging in antisocial behaviour or are likely to become involved in such incidents. Under the legislation, officers have the power to seize any item used in the commission of anti-social behaviour. Anyone who has previously been directed to leave the area and returns may ultimately be arrested.
Speaking to the ECHO earlier today, Claudia Penna Rojas, 25, a spokesperson for Animal Rising, said: "I'm here as part of Animal Rising. We're here because we care about these horses, as I'm sure everyone at this race does. But unfortunately in events like the Grand National and other events where we exploit animals for entertainment, we put them in harm's way and we want to prevent this from happening.
"This is part of a much bigger campaign over the summer, not just centred around horse racing, but as part of a wider national conversation about how we interact with animals and the natural world."
She added: "It's unnecessary to put animals in harm's way for entertainment, and there are better ways to have a connection with animals and still have a good time without the exploitation of another being. We've got people from all over the UK because people rightly care about this issue.
"We're going to be here peacefully demonstrating, reaching out to people and having these conversations. We'll be marching later today and this is all with the end goal of protecting the horses and starting the conversations that so desperately need to happen.
"The reaction towards us has been varied from racegoers - some people aren't the happiest we're here, but at the same time we've been having some good conversations with them. We know they care about these horses, that's why they're here, and they have a connection with them.
"In that sense, there's far more that connects us than divides us, so it's about making that emotional connection with everyone here today. There's a lot of police here today watching us, but we expected it, so it's okay."
Commenting on the arrests made outside of the racecourse today, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: "Merseyside Police has been working with The Jockey Club and other partners to keep people safe during the Grand National Festival.
“We are aware of some people planning to protest at the event. This has been factored into our plans. We respect the right to peaceful protest and expression of views, but criminal behaviour and disorder will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."
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