Dog Fighting
Posted by admin on January 10th, 2009One of the most destressing articles I’ve heard of in a long time was when RSPCA officers raided a house in Essex, England and were confronted with a carefully converted room which was designed to allow onlookers to watch dog fighting.
A door leading into the box room had the top half cut off so that these dog fighting contests could be videoed.
When the dog fighting had ended, the bottom of the bedroom walls were repainted a dark blue to hide the stains left by the bleeding dogs.
RSPCA officers, backed up by police staged other raids in the West Midlands when they seized at least 13 put bull terries, bred for dog fighting The raid followed a tip off.
Senior figures within the RSPCA believe there are record numbers of pit bulls in Britain despite the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 which was supposed to outlaw the keeping of pit bull terriers. The issue of pit bulls and other dangerous dogs being kept illegally in Britain was highlighted by the death of the five-year-old girl, Ellie Lawrenson, on 1 January. It is a widely held belief that pit bulls are bread for dog fighting.
Pit bulls are one of four types of dog that are outlawed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. The law bans the breeding and sale or exchange of pit bull terriers, or their cross breeds.
Any other dogs “appearing … to be bred for dog fighting or to have the characteristics of a type bred for that purpose” are also outlawed.
Chief Inspector Ian Briggs, of the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said: “The Dangerous Dog Act initially had an effect on the number of animals, but over the past few years there has been a big increase in the number of pit bulls.” It is also believed that the incident of dog fighting has also increase dramatically.
He said despite a crack down on “premier league” dog fighters, and a series of successful prosecutions, there were still about 100 “hard core” fighters. “It is an obsession for them, they travel the length and breath of the country to take part in organized dog fighting,” he said. The biggest expansion had been in what he described as “tier two” dog fighters, of which there are hundreds. “These are young hoody men who keep pit bulls as a macho symbol.”
The police and RSPCA have been targeting the second tier of dog fighting in Merseyside during the past week. Thirteen people were arrested and 28 dogs were seized at 16 addresses in Huyton and Stockbridge Village, Knowsley.
The total number of suspected pit bulls seized in Merseyside since Ellie’s death now stands at 56.
Stakes at a dog fighting session can be high – as much as £10,000 – and the consequences for the creatures involved can be grim: jaws left hanging off or dislocated, puncture marks to the face and, in some cases, death in the “ring”.