ANIMAL rights activists are planning a summer-long campaign of protests at sporting events.

Alex Lockwood of Animal Rising, which was behind the disruption at the Grand National on Saturday, told GB News: “We will be holding a summer of campaign actions.

“We’re campaigning against a whole number of sporting events. It’s going to be big this summer.

“We will be making a real statement for animals this year and we’re trying to build a mass movement to change our relationship with animals.”

In a discussion with Patrick Christys, he said the group was not responsible for the death of Hill Sixteen during the Grand National, as alleged by trainer Sandy Thomson.

“We were there to stop the harm and the reason why the harm happened, and the reason why Hill Sixteen died, was because they ran the race, and the reason why they ran the race was because millions of pounds would bet on it because it’s a national institution,” he said.

“They did not want to see it stopped and what we would actually say is, if the you know that we know that jockeys and trainers have great relationships with their horses, if they knew the horse was spooked, I know Hill Sixteen had surgery quite recently, then they needed to pull that horse from the race.

“For us, it’s not a numbers issue, it’s a moral issue. We do not want to breed for greed and force animals into a life of suffering in this country. What we want is actually to free up the wildlife, free up nature.”

Mr Lockwood added: “We know that 80% of racehorses in training have stomach ulcers because it’s incredibly stressful. We know that horses do not want to be kept for 22 hours a day on their own in a stable, they’re pack animals, they want to run together.

“So a fifth of all horses exhibit pathology, such as weaving, that is not a good life.

“We believe we’re the animals’ glimmer of hope, because what we want is industries where relationships with animals is where we can love them but not harm them.”