'Cruel industry' - Grand National 'ban' calls from South Tyneside animal rights group
Calls are being made for the Grand National to be banned, by a South Tyneside-based animal rights group.
The founder of a South Tyneside based animal rights group has called for a ban on the nation’s favourite horse race – branding it “cruel”.
Anna Malia, who runs North East Animal Rights (NEAR), urged gamblers and the public to turn their backs on this weekend’s Grand National.
She said she feared runners – more so than their riders – were at risk of serious injury or even death from competing in the event.
To support her plea, Anna and other representatives of NEAR will be demonstrating against horse racing in Newcastle on Saturday.
They will be at city centre Grey’s Monument, from 11am to 1pm, to highlight the suffering caused to horses from racing.
NEAR’s event is one of several taking place across the country, in part inspired by a new report by Animal Aid, one of the world’s longest established animal rights groups.
‘It is time the public understand’
It found 254 horses died in 2025 after participating in a race and there were 641 abuses of the whip beyond industry rules, with fines for abuses averaging £4.52.
Anna, whose organisation operates across the region, said: “It is time that the public understood exactly what is involved in the horseracing industry. It is a cruel industry.
“Horses are being killed for non-fatal injuries simply because they are not financially viable.
“This jars with the constant refrain of ‘horses are treated better than family members’ we hear.
“The public are led to believe that ex-racers are ‘retired’ but time and time again Animal Aid have been able to prove hundreds of ex-racehorses are sent to slaughter.
‘Horses are not commodities’
“Horses are not commodities to be used for human entertainment or ‘a nice day out’.
“They are sentient beings frequently raced beyond their physical capacities as statistics regularly show.”
Animal Aid said new polling it commissioned in March had shown clear public opposition to the use of animals in harmful sports.
Isobel McNally, its campaign manager, said the death of horses during or after races had become so normalised that race officials keep privacy screens by the side of courses.
She added: “This is what the public’s viewership and betting contribute to.
“It props up a billion-pound industry that knowingly puts animals’ lives in danger. Horses deserve so much better.”
Information about NEAR is at https://linktr.ee/northeastanimalrights