Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, the Secretary of the Associate Paliamentary Group For Animal Welfare in The House of Commons adds our video to his Facebook site.
The following extract was written by Christina of The league Against Cruel Sports onh March 16th 2011
‘Several recent news reports into dog fighting and problems with status/trophy dogs have appeared in the news this week and if your stomach is strong enough it is pretty gruesome reading and reveals what a huge and growing problem this is.
Most people would be appalled to learn that despite being banned since 1835, dog fighting seems to be on the rise. Perhaps it is just an increase in awareness or maybe the perpetrators are becoming bolder. Whatever the reason, we’re hearing about more and more incidents involving fighting or status dogs.
One such story was reported in the Yorkshire Post in which a man pleaded guilty to two counts of cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 after he and another man snared a fox and then set two dogs onto it.
The incident took place in a confined yard and after backing the defenceless animal into a corner, the men even used a stick to pin it down making the fox even less able to defend itself against the attack, and throughout the ordeal the men were filming the fight on a mobile phone as they watched, laughed and urged on the dogs.
The RSPCA officer who investigated the incident said that it was the worse footage he’d ever come across and that it “wasn’t about despatching vermin or ‘sport’. This was a barbaric act of cruelty against a totally defenceless animal.”
The individual involved has been jailed for 16 weeks and banned from keeping animals for ten years. Neither dog involved in the fight have been found.
Elsewhere in the country signs of dogs being trained for fighting has been found in local parks where trees have been used by people to strengthen the jaws of their dogs. This is a common practice amongst dog fighters and if seen should be immediately reported to the police.
At the end of last week we saw a report in another paper in which a vet claims that there are more pit bulls in London now than when the breed was banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. So many dangerous dogs have now been seized by the Met police that a special status dog unit has been set up to cope with the problem. The head of the British veterinary Asociation said that “the problem [of status and fighting dogs] has actually got worse and is getting worse quite rapidly now”
Then finally today we are greeted in the Aberdeen Press and Journal by the revelation that the remains of a Staffordshire bull-terrier thought to have been bludgeoned to death was discovered in a woodland in February, just weeks after four people were charged with dog-fighting offences in the area, sparking suspicions that a dog-fighting ring is operating in North Aberdeenshire.
Investigators believe the dog had been involved in organised dog fighting and had been disposed of to hide the evidence.
No one needs to be reminded of how barbaric it is to force animals to fight against one another purely for the entertainment of others, no one needs convincing that this kind of activity needs to be stopped but we do need your help to bring this problem out of the darkened alleys and into the spotlight.
If you know anything about illegal dog fighting or dogs being set onto any other animal please get in touch with us on 01483 524250′
