Fur f lies at Crufts! Best In Show winner’s ceremony is dogged by animal rights protest
THE Crufts finale descended into chaos last night when an animal rights protester stormed the arena as the 2018 ‘Best In Show’ was announced.
Seconds after Scots whippet Tease had been crowned winner of the world’s biggest dog show, a man ran across the floor before he was tackled by security.
The activist waved a poster that said: ‘Crufts: canine eugenics.’
As the demonstrator ran towards her, Tease’s owner Yvette Short, of Edinburgh, picked up her dog and went to safety. Host Clare Balding later told Mrs Short: ‘Well done for reacting so quickly, your instinct was to protect Tease.’
The crowd at the Birmingham NEC, which has seen an estimated 160,000 visitors across four days, then booed the protester as he was taken away.
Peta, the campaign group that calls for the ethical treatment of animals, claimed responsibility for the stunt, which was shown live on Channel 4. Peta’s director Elisa Allen said: ‘Crufts glorifies pedigree fetishists’ twisted pursuit of the “perfect” dog.
‘There’s nothing natural about breeding dogs with extreme and debilitating physical traits, and Peta urges everyone to stay away from this cruel beauty pageant.’
Crufts said: ‘It appears that protesters from Peta gained unauthorised access. In doing so they scared the dogs and put the safety of people and dogs at risk in a highly irresponsible way.’