Saturday 6th April saw a dozen Nottingham activists stage a peaceful protest outside Ladbrokes betting shop in Nottingham city centre, to raise public awareness about the dark side of the Grand National, and also the wider horse and greyhound racing industries. The message was that there is no such thing as a harmless flutter, as if you bet on animal racing then you are literally betting with their lives.

Campaigners were out with banners, placards and visual displays to make sure that the message reached as many passers-by as possible. One activist was dressed in a dead horse costume splattered with blood, a very shocking image designed to have a real emotional impact on the public, and to help them make connections between the bets they place and the tragic consequences this can have for horses.

The Grand National is a deliberately hazardous race for 'excitement' and entertainment value. Since 2000, 22 horses have died on the Grand National course and, over the course of the three-day meeting, 38 horses have been killed in that same period.This year two horses sadly died in the run-up to the big race, Battlefront and Little Josh, despite changes that were meant to improve the safety of the course.

Aside from the Grand National, hundreds of beautiful animals are raced to death on British tracks each year, die in training, or are killed because they are no longer profitable. Thousands more are killed on top of this because they don't make the grade. There is an awful lot of needless suffering and exploitation going on purely for human entertainment.

On the day of the demo the betting shop staff had little to say to protesters. The response from the public walking past the demo was incredibly positive. Hundreds of people stopped to sign a copy of Animal Aid's 'Ban the Grand National' petition and to offer support for the demo. Campaigners noted that the response was even more positive than last year's demo and that far fewer people were going into the betting shop that in previous years. The implication is that the message is getting across and that people are seeing through the glamorous facade of the Grand National to the ruthless exploitation and careless disregard for horses lives that lurks beneath the surface.

You can find out lots of information about the dark side of the horse racing industry over on Animal Aid's website:
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/horse/

They also run a race horse death watch page, detailing the fatalities on British racetracks since 2007:

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/

If you'd like to join Nottingham Animal Rights in their regular campaigns against animal suffering then the next fortnightly meeting is on Thursday 18th April from 8pm at the Broadway Cinema, Mezz Bar on the first floor, in Notthingham city centre,