The billionaires pulling the strings here have no regard for horses. Threats and lawsuits will not stop us from working to end animal racing in the Bay Area and beyond.
MICHAEL CABANATUAN: Golden Gate Fields, the Bay Area’s lone surviving horse track, has sued a group of animal rights activists who shut down the track for several hours earlier this month. The suit seeks to bar activists from Direct Action Everywhere, a global animal rights group, from the Golden Gate Fields property in Berkeley and Albany… . It cites several incidents involving trespassing by Direct Action in the Bay Area and says that the group has “threaten(ed) to continue to trespass” at Golden Gate’s facilities… It also seeks an unspecified amount of damages to compensate the track for revenue lost during the March 4 shutdown and the costs of regaining control of the facility.
Four Direct Action members climbed a fence and locked themselves together inside PVC tubes on the backside of the track, minutes before the scheduled post time for a day of racing. They were removed from the track about six hours later. Track officials said they were forced to cancel one race but were able to hold six others after 7 p.m. Spectators have been prohibited from the track during the pandemic. Another 20 protesters gathered outside the Berkeley entrance to the facility, waving signs that read “Shut down Golden Gate Fields” and setting off purple smoke flares at the same time protesters on the track ignited identical devices…
The suit, filed March 9 in Alameda County Superior Court, names Direct Action Everywhere and the four people, all Bay Area residents, who were cited for trespassing after blocking the track for about six hours… Rocky Chau, one of activists who blocked the track and is named in the lawsuit, said “The billionaires pulling the strings here have no regard for horses… but money can’t stop the changing tide of public sentiment. Threats and lawsuits will not stop us from working to end animal racing in the Bay Area and beyond”. SOURCE…
RELATED VIDEOS: