Animal Welfare Fail at the Grand National

I was shocked and sickened by the awful situation at the Grand National today; another two horses tragically lost their lives in the name of sport.  How can this happen?  To try to find more about whether this can be stopped I went to the RSPCA website.  There I found a specific article about their equine inspectors and was pleased to see that they were at The Grand National and therefore should be able to understand what happened and act to stop it in the future.

Ongoing efforts to improve horse welfare
We recently formed our team of equine inspectors to deal with the horse crisis with growing numbers of horses being cruelly abandoned and neglected.  We have about 500 horses and ponies in our care, 70 per cent more than this time last year, which cost more than £2.5 million a year to look after.  The equine inspectors will be at Aintree throughout the three-day meet in the run-up to the Grand National - widely regarded as the world's most testing jump race.  The move comes after the tragic deaths of five horses at the Cheltenham Festival and is part of ongoing efforts to improve welfare for racehorses across the sport.

I also found their statement at http://www.rspca.org.uk/utilities/statement/120412

Whilst at the RSPCA website I also found out that it's RSPCA week starting on 30th April; a week when RSPCA focuses on raising income, and awareness of the work they do:
1. Because all animals deserve a life free from hunger and thirst.
2. To protect animals from cruelty and pain
3. So we can act to rescue any animal enduring fear and distress
4. To give animals a new beginning
5. Because supporting RSPCA Week will help us to be here for animals every single day

I am thrilled to see that the RSPCA are doing so much work for animal welfare here and across the globe, I look forward to highlighting some of it during their week later this month.