FOLLOWING the shocking deaths of two horses in last month’s Grand National, Animal Aid commissioned an NOP opinion poll to see if most British people agree with us that the race is cruel.

The results show that they do.

Of those who expressed an opinion, three fifths agree that it’s cruel, with only two fifths not agreeing. People in the north east showed even more concern than the rest of the UK, with 66 per cent agreeing that the race was cruel.

The two deaths this year were no surprise, as two died last year, and there has been an average of one death per race in the past decade.

Why does the Grand National keep killing horses? There are a host of reasons. Prominent amongst them is because it’s too long – it’s the world’s longest thoroughbred national hunt race; it’s too crowded – 40 horses is far too many; and because the jumps are too frequent and too high, particularly the notorious Becher’s Brook.

The only solution is to ban the Grand National. In the meantime, please don’t bet on it, and phone 01732 364546 for information about how to end horseracing cruelty.

Richard Mountford, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent.