A horse killed on first day of Grand National meeting 2011

He fell in the crowded Silver Cross Handicap Hurdle and, due to serious injury, was destroyed at the Aintree course.

This brings to 32 the number of horses who have been killed at the three-day Grand National Meeting since 2000.

Animal Aid Horse Racing Consultant Dene Stansall said:

‘Horse deaths at the Grand National Meeting are not accidents, they are predictable This is not sport but straightforward animal abuse. It must be consigned to history.’

More information:

• For full background and interviews, contact Andrew Tyler or Dene Stansall on 01732 364546.
• An ISDN line is available for broadcast-quality interviews.

Notes to editors:

• Animal Aid’s Horse Racing Awareness Week – seven days of campaigning and awareness raising – runs from 3-9 April 2011.
• View our powerful 90-second web film at www.stopkillinghorses.com
• Of the approximately18,000 horses who have been bred annually in recent years by the closely related British and Irish racing industries, only around 40 per cent go on to race. Many of the ‘low quality’ newborns are destroyed, while those who do enter racing suffer a high level of fatal injuries and stress-related illnesses, such as gastric ulcers and bleeding lungs. Around 7,500 thoroughbreds have been leaving British racing each year, yet very few go on to a sanctuary or adoptive home.