Ricky Gervais amongst animal lovers calling for a halt to horse cruelty after three horse fatalities in racing at Aintree. Kildare's Ger Lyons responds

Please note, some of this photos may be distressing to viewers

Whilst horse racing enthusiasts revelled in the glory of Tiger Roll’s second win at Aintree in the UK’s historic Grand National, animal lovers were active on social media over the weekend, denouncing the cruelty and fatalities witnessed. Celebrity Ricky Gervais joined the outcry after three horses died at the Liverpool venue.

Gruesome photos shared on Facebook by Harambe

The comedian and actor tweeted: “Why would you gamble with a horse’s life for fun? #YouBetTheyDie,” . The 'After Life' star and creator sent his heart felt message to 13.2 million followers on Twitter last weekend, after the tragic sight of Up For Review thrashing on the track after his fall at the first fence.

LiveKindly online wrote how the “UK Grand National horse race is considered a British cultural icon” founded in 1829 and that, “eighty-two horses have died since its inception”.

Images by Jax Lord on Facebook

However, well known Meath based trainer and Kildare native, Ger Lyons hit back at the celebrity Gervais and stated:

A top Meath trainer has described a tweet by comedian Ricky Gervais in the aftermath of the Grand National as "very ill-informed and offensive".

Ger Lyons extended an open invite to the celebrity to visit his Glenburnie Stables at Dunsany after the star tweeted a picture of a horse with a tear in his eye and said: ‘Why Would You Gamble with a horse’s life for fun? #youbettheydie’

An infuriated Lyons replied to the tweet, also on Twitter, saying: “Ricky, I probably love animals more than humans and I invite you to visit my yard and see how these glorious animals are treated. You’re probably too busy but your tweet is very ill-informed and offensive.

The Irish Examiner earlier today stated that Lyons, who trains more than 100 horses, said he felt he had to reply after seeing the post.

“I felt I had to stand up and be counted. I follow Ricky Gervais because he loves and respects animals so much like I do but when you have 13.2m followers like he does, you have to be responsible with what you tweet. Every year after the Grand National, you see tweets similar to this and it gets tedious to be honest".

He continued: “I hate giving oxygen to these comments but he has so many followers, I had to say something. He’s entitled to his view but he has to be mindful about what he tweets".

Lyons noted he had 100 horses under his care, and the horse racing industry is bound by "stringent regulations which change constantly".

He added; That’s on top of our natural love for horses anyway. He (Gervais) is more than welcome to come to my yard at any time and I’ll show him the care and time we place on all our horses.”

Lyons currently trains at Dunsany, having turned to training when a serious injury in 1989 cut short his career as a jockey.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) according to LiveKindly stated the Grand National is one of the world’s deadliest courses. PETA’s denouncement of horses as being used as “disposable commodities was supported by Gervais who regularly uses his personal social media platforms to raise awareness on animal cruelty. He has spoken against trophy hunting, animal cruelty for fashion, animal testing, horse racing, etc.

Photos depicting horses with bleeding mouths before Saturday’s iconic race, along with bleeding heads and sadly, a fatality for Up for Review's fall were shared by many of Kildare's animal lovers, Susan Anderson of Littlehhills Animal Sanctuary amongst them.

Aintree and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are to review the deaths of the three horses during this year’s three-day meeting. The last death of a horse recorded during Aintree Feestival occurred in 2012 but sadly this year, Forest Des Aigles and Crucial Role also died on the second day’s racing at the Liverpool racetrack.

Track authorities and the BHA extended sympathies to the owners and interests of the horses who died but stated: "You have to go back to 2012 since we lost a horse in the Grand National, thanks in part to the huge amount of effort and investment we put into horse welfare” and added “You cannot remove all risk from our sport, we will analyse what happened and leave no stone unturned in doing so."

The RSPCA added it was "deeply saddened and concerned to see the deaths of three horses at Aintree this year".

Prior to last week’s event at Aintree, the BHA Authority announced the number of horse deaths on racecourses reached a six-year high in 2018, with 201 horses having died during competitive racings last year.

Horseracing is a huge industry here in Ireland and is a traditional sport to most Irish people, with three race tracks here in Co Kildare at Naas, Punchestown and the Curragh. What do you think? Are the restrictions in horse racing and protection of the horses strict enough?

Should the Grand National be banned or modified to reduce the risk to horses..........