Animal Rising can confirm it will not be seeking to cause disruption to the Royal Ascot Festival, due to begin tomorrow, after causing disruption at 4 high-profile horse racing events this year [1].
The group claims it has seen “incredible success” in creating a national conversation about our broken relationship with other animals and nature through its actions this year, including rescuing 3 lambs from the Royal estate at Sandringham.
Animal Rising has reaffirmed its intention to disrupt the English Greyhound Derby at Towcester on July 1st, arguably the biggest event in global Greyhound racing.
Animal Rising will not cause disruption to proceedings at Royal Ascot this week, instead choosing to spotlight the Greyhound racing industry at the industry’s showpiece event on July 1st. The group says that horseracing and Greyhound racing are “two sides of the same coin” and that they will continue to take nonviolent direct action to continue the “national conversation about our broken relationship with other animals and nature.”
Robert Gordon, 26, a spokesperson for the group said:
“We are immensely disappointed to see the horseracing industry shy away from an honest offer of a televised debate to put their case to the court of public opinion. From research that the British Horseracing Authority commissioned themselves we know at least 20% of Britons do not support the use of horses for sport.
"Nevertheless, we’ve seen a definitive shift in public opinion with 54% of us saying we find the Grand National cruel. Animal Rising will be taking action at the English Greyhound Derby on July 1st to keep the spotlight on animals. Whether it’s with greyhounds, horses, or those on farms across the country, it is clear we need to imagine a new connection with other animals and nature. Doing so is at the heart of tackling our climate and nature crises.” [2] [3]
In 2021, a combined 340 greyhounds and horses died on racetracks in the UK [4]. This does not include off-track deaths, with a 2019 documentary revealing a staggering, approximately, 6,000 greyhounds are killed in Ireland each year for being ‘too slow’ [5]. With around 80% of Greyhounds in The UK coming from Ireland, Animal Rising claims that it’s clear these deaths are linked to racing here [6].
Around a billion land animals are killed for food in the UK each year [7]. A 2018 study from the University of Oxford showed that our current food system is the leading cause of biodiversity loss, land use, eutrophication, and water pollution [8].
Animal Rising is a social movement to create a new relationship with all beings and give us a chance for a safe ecological future. The group primarily calls for the transition to a secure and sustainable plant-based food system, alongside a mass rewilding programme.
ENDS
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Notes to Editor:
[1] Animal Rising disrupted The Grand National on 15/4/23, The Scottish Grand National on 22/4/23, Doncaster Racecourse on 6/5/23, and The Epsom Derby on 3/6/23.
[4] Greyhounds: https://gbgb-prod-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/11090140/2018-2021-Injury-Retirement-Summary-Final.pdf Horses: https://www.animalaid.org.uk/record-numbers-of-race-horses-killed-in-britain-in-2021/#:~:text=Racecourses%20took%20the%20lives%20of,and%20its%20Horse%20Welfare%20Board.