Animal rights protesters ran onto the track at Epsom Derby 2022 and laid in the middle of the ground, delaying the race. These demonstrators were dragged off the track by police, following which the race began. 

The group, holding banners, ran onto the grass and laid on the ground around 75 yards from the finish line.

Police and security quickly intervened and dragged them away before carrying them off into a police van.

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In a statement after the protest, Animal Rebellion, an animal and climate justice movement, said, “At approximately 4:30 pm 6 women, protestors from the group Animal Rebellion, entered the course at Epsom with sashes reading “Animal Justice”. They do so on the 109th anniversary of the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison throwing herself in front of a horse at the same course. Animal Rebellion is demanding an end to horse racing, all forms of animal exploitation, and instead a transition towards a plant-based food system and animal justice.”

Orla Coghlan, one of those who protests at the derby, said “Horse racing took the lives of 220 animals on racecourses in the UK last year, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. In this country over a billion land animals are killed for food each year. Exploitation of, and violence against, animals is fuelling the climate emergency and suffering across the globe. It is obvious we must choose life over death and stop animal exploitation.”

The incident comes two days after animal rights protesters jumped onto the Mall during the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

“Yesterday, Animal Rebels disrupted the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations to demand we Reclaim Royal Land as part of a broader wildlife restoration and carbon drawdown plan for a Plant-Based Future,” Animal Rebellion said in a statement on Friday.