The protest group Animal Rising says that this weekend it’ll be ‘disrupting the Epsom Derby to continue the conversation we started at the Grand National’. That refers to the protests at Aintree in mid-April.
Meanwhile the Jockey Club, which runs Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, has been granted an injunction by the High Court judge Sir Anthony Mann. It prohibits individuals from entering onto the racetrack and carrying out other acts with the intention and/or effect of disrupting the races. Such acts include intentionally causing objects to enter the racetrack, entering the parade ring, entering and/or remaining on the horses’ route to the parade ring and to the racetrack without authorisation, and intentionally endangering any person at Epsom during the Derby Festival, on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3. As with such court orders, a breach of the order could be subject to proceedings for contempt of court, which may lead to a fine or prison.
After the hearing, the Jockey Club’s Chief Executive, Nevin Truesdale, said: “Our number one priority will always be to ensure that the safety of all our equine and human participants and racegoers, officials and our own employees is not compromised. Animal Rising have repeatedly made it explicitly clear that they intend to break the law and disrupt The Derby Festival and that left us with no choice but to seek this injunction, having consulted with a number of stakeholders including Surrey Police.
“We will never tolerate a repeat of the illegal disruption we saw at Aintree on Grand National Day and we welcome today’s High Court ruling, which provides us with an additional layer of security to combat the threat of such dangerous and reckless behaviour.
“We believe everyone should have the right to peaceful protest and have offered Animal Rising an area near the entrance of Epsom Downs Racecourse to express their views in a law-abiding way. However, anyone who attempts to disrupt the race or compromise the safety of horses or humans will be dealt with robustly by our security teams and the police.”
Animal Rising has stated that it’s a non-violent social movement to create a new relationship with all beings for a safe ecological future. The group has also been making “sit-ins” at high-end restaurants; farms; and other racecourses.
Last year a wide-ranging injunction was made that covers the London to the Midlands route of the HS2 rail line, including even the digging of tunnels, to counter the tactic as seen at Euston Gardens at the London terminus in the winter of 2020-21.
As reported in the June print edition of Professional Security Magazine, other racecourses have added to their contracted guarding owing to the ‘porous’ nature of the long and often rural perimeters of courses. Around the Grand National, Merseyside Police made some 118 arrests of protesters, on suspicion of a number of offences including conspiracy to cause public nuisance, obstructing highways and possession of controlled drugs
Meanwhile the Public Order Bill has passed through Parliament, making new criminal offences for interfering with key national infrastructure such as roads and railways; and to ‘lock-on’ to other people or objects, a protester tactic. The Home Office is bringing forward yet another law (a similar one to combat protesting came out last year) to address ‘slow marching’ by Just Stop Oil, a protest tactic that was continuing in London last month. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Selfish, disruptive protesters are wreaking havoc in people’s everyday lives across the country and this must be brought to a stop.”
