A group of animal rights activists is using betting shops to protest against the Grand National for the first time, it emerged today.
Instead of campaigning at Aintree, Kent-based action group Animal Aid will target the once-a-year gamblers to persuade them not to bet on Saturday's race.
Activists will lobby bookmakers across the country with 100,000 flyers and posters bearing the slogan "Cruelty - you can bet on it" and a photograph of a racehorse with a broken leg.
Animal Aid claims 300 horses are "raced to death" in Britain each year while thousands more are "forced to endure painful mutilations to maximise the owners' financial return".
Around 15million people will bet up to £80million on Saturday's race which the group says shows support for a cruel sport.
"The average person in the street betting on the Grand National is kept in the dark about cruelty to the horses," a spokeswoman for Animal Aid said.
"We have decided to concentrate on betting shops rather than the racecourse because trainers and handlers are well-aware of what goes on.
"We have a duty to the horses to get the message out.
"This is the first time betting shops have been targeted but we hope this will be an annual campaign."
The group's director, Andrew Tyler, added: "There is no such thing as a harmless flutter.
"The British public are unwittingly gambling with animals' lives."
