Peta campaigner was wrestled to the ground by security at final of dog breeding show

An intruder stormed into the arena as the winner of the Crufts dog show was announced on live television.

The male intruder, who was named by Crufts organisers as a protester from the animal rights group Peta, was wrestled to the ground in the middle of the show arena, the NEC in Birmingham.

Owner Yvette Short, of Edinburgh, had proudly stepped up to the podium with her best in show winner – a two-and-a-half-year-old whippet bitch called Tease – when the intruder sprinted on to the scene. She quickly grabbed Tease as several men ran down and cornered the protester in front of the live audience who began to boo. The crowd broke into applause as the intruder was taken away.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Owner Yvette Short with this year’s best in show, Tease. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Crufts and the NEC Group said they will urgently review security procedures as the scare frightened the dogs and risked their safety. A Crufts spokesman said: “It appears that protesters from Peta gained unauthorised access to the ring in the main arena at Crufts, and in doing so scared the dogs and put the safety of both dogs and people at risk in a hugely irresponsible way.

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“Our main priority at the moment is the wellbeing of the dogs that were in the ring, who are looked after by their owners and show officials.”

Peta UK later tweeted a clip of the invasion and claimed activists were protesting against extreme breeding and carrying banners that said “Crufts: Canine Eugenics”.

It said there were two intruders and named them as members of the Vegan Strike Group, which bills itself as fighters against animal abuse.