27 April 2023 , 10:04
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Michael O’Leary has condemned the animal rights protesters who tried to halt the Grand National, describing them as “a bunch of middle class layabouts”.
The outspoken leading racehorse owner and boss of Ryanair claimed anti-racing campaigners were seeking to make thoroughbreds extinct and said they should come clean about their motives.
Horse racing has been hit by successive weekends of protests at Aintree before the Grand National and last weekend before the Scottish Grand National at Ayr.
Police made numerous arrests at both events, which were able to go ahead as scheduled, but more action by protestors has been promised.
O’Leary, who has won the Grand National three times with Rule The World and Tiger Roll twice, addressed the issue during a Q&A with MartEye ahead of the Gigginstown Angus Sale, an auction of pedigree bulls and heifers held at his farm in Co Westmeath, Ireland.
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“What I would like to see is for some of them to be brought on television and asked to defend what it is their campaigning for," he said.
“This is a bunch of vegans who are campaigning for everybody converting to plants. So basically what they are looking for is the extinction of the racehorse.
Michael O'Leary (right) with two-time Grand National Winner Tiger Roll“But if that’s what they want why don’t they come out and say it instead of trying to glue themselves to fences. Nobody in the UK or Ireland supports the extinction of racehorses. They are a beautiful animal, a wonderful species.
“I think jump racing in particular both in Ireland and the UK has done wonderful work, particularly the Grand National, Aintree and Cheltenham, on making it safer.”
O’Leary dismissed a suggestion that the Aintree fences should be lowered as “ludicrous”.
“They clearly don’t understand that if they lower the fences the horses go faster and you’d have more fatalities. So there is a lot of ignorance behind it,” he went on.
“They are bunch of attention-seekers advocating veganism. They don’t want to rear animals to eat them. Well if you don’t want to rear them to eat them, there won’t be any animals.
“They are in favour of rewilding which is great in theory until when there is no food, or food prices double, treble or quadruple, while this bunch of middle class layabouts are out there sticking themselves to pool tables, to snooker tables or fences.
Police carry a protester away from the course before the Grand National (ITV)“Racehorses in particular are a very beloved animal but they are racehorses. They will only be bred if there is racing and if there is no racing there will be no racehorses bred.”
There was one death in the Grand National with Hill Sixteen suffering a fatal injury at the first fence of the race, which was delayed 14 minutes.
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O’Leary said racing needed to be more on the front foot in defending the sport from the animal rights lobby.
“There will always be fatalities,” he added. “I am a racehorse breeder. I’ve lost more horses foaling than I have racing.
“So I wouldn’t pay too much attention to them. I don’t think they have any real support and I think they have received a disproportionate amount of publicity for what was ultimately a failed effort to disrupt the Grand National.”