Animal Aid Grand National "Death Watch"

[Animal Rights]

Animal Aid has been covering the Grand National and highlighted the way that BBC covers deaths of horses at the event.

BBC UNDER ATTACK OVER FOUR GRAND NATIONAL DEATHS

Posted 9 April 2010

The BBC is accused today by national campaign group Animal Aid of
continuing its grotesque cover-up of horse deaths at the Grand National
meeting. On the second day of the three-day event, three horses
perished. Two of the victims broke their necks or backs almost
simultaneously at Valentine’s Brook on the Grand National course, while
pitted against 27 other horses in the Topham Chase.

They were 8-year-old Prudent Honour and 7-year-old Plaisir D’Estraval. Neither of these inexperienced horses had faced the
frightening Grand National fences before.

The third of today’s casualties was Schindlers Hunt, who was reported to have broken a front leg during the John Smith Melling
Chase, just 35 minutes earlier.

The first day of the meeting also produced a casualty. Six-year-old mare, Pagan Starprincess, fell at the first obstacle in the 22-runner Sil.... She is believed to have suffered fatal spinal injuries and was destroyed, out of sight of the public, behind green screens.

With the Grand National itself still to be run tomorrow (Saturday) – along with six other races – the fear is that the current tally of four
deaths for the 2010 meeting will increase further. Last year, five horses were killed at the event.

Earlier this week, Animal Aid Director, Andrew Tyler, wrote to BBC Head Of Sport, Barbara Slater, demanding that deaths at Aintree are not
in future glossed over by the BBC television team. He accused the
Corporation of ‘fashioning a dishonest, sanitised picture of the
Aintree meeting to maximise its earning potential’. The BBC says it
distributes footage of the Grand National to more than 140 countries
and a worldwide audience of more than 600 million people.

But, true to form, the four deaths during the first two days of this year’s meeting have received scarcely a mention. A protest at the Corporation’s failure to meet its public service
obligation will take place outside the main headquarters of the BBC in
London tomorrow, from 11.30 am.

Says Animal Aid Director Andrew Tyler:

‘The BBC seems to think that it can dispose of the deaths of three horses in the space of 35 minutes, in three or four
hastily-uttered sentences. The performance of its Aintree racing
commentary team has been callous and cynical. Broken-necked horses lay
dying in full view of the cameras and yet they kept up the pretence
that all was harmlessly thrilling and exciting. The publicly-funded
broadcaster might profit handsomely from marketing its Aintree footage
but that is no excuse for its execrable performance.’

I personally find the fact that Crufts was dropped hypocritical when they continue to show this,

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