 |
RAIDS FAIL TO STOP DOG FIGHTING
(cutting Birmingham Evening Post August 29th 2001 by Emma Brady) Thankyou Eirwen
The horrific sport of dog fighting is making a comeback in the Midlands despite a string of raids on illegal meetings across the region.
In their latest operation, undercover officers from the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals seized 12 dogs and arrested four men at addresses in Birmingham, London, Scunthorpe and Surrey.
The RSPCA discovered Staffordshire bull terriers and other working dogs were being thrust into makeshift arenas by their owners, as a resurgent interest in the blood sport spreads across Britain.
The society's chief inspector, Mike Butcher, who helped co-ordinate Operation Flute with local police forces, said he believed a new generation of enthusiasts were discovering the sick sport. Dog fighting, which was a popular pastime in medieval times in Staffordshire and the Midlands, had its heyday in the 1970s, when bloody bouts were held regularly at local venues. But the RSPCA believe dog fights have become a highly co-ordinated activity shared by a secret band of enthusiasts, with the four arrests made earlier this month being linked into a wider network.
Mr Butcher said: 'This is a nationwide problem but Birmingham and the West Midlands region is a major hot spot, we receive a high level of reports about dog fighting. 'Dog fighting was very popular between the 1970s and 1990s, but the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act in 1991 seemed to cause a lull in the scene, but now it's becoming a regular event in many towns and cities. Our officials are always getting calls about it, and this sick sport is in danger of becoming popular with a new generation of dog-fighting fans
'At its peak there sparring matches were held weekly all over the country, but now these are being staged once or twice a month.' Since 1990 the RSPCA has made 145 successful convictions for dog fighting. In addition to the men arrested and dogs seized during Operation Flute, 16 people have been quizzed and four convicted of dog fighting offences so far this year.
That figure is already double last year's total number. Mr Butcher believes the difficulties police forces face in enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Act has led to expensive and lengthy court cases.
He said: 'It is a long, protracted process to bring these cases to court, which costs the police a small fortune to keep the seized dogs in kennels while experts and lawyers argue over the fine print.
'It's the macho element to this which attracts punters, men think the dogs are fighting on their behalf in the ring. 'It's not really about the money it's about being seen as the toughest guy there. 'We're talking about a very secretive world that by definition is very difficult to infiltrate, these people are surveillance-conscious, violent, into martial arts, boxing and most of all, macho.
'When people are arrested during raids on dog-fighting dens, the people involved are often found to have previous convictions for violent crimes.'/cutting ends
*************************************************************
I urge you to read what happened last time the RSPCA had a pogram on this breed of dogs because Staffordshire bull terriers are not the same as pit bulls. It led to the seizing and killing on evidence of an RSPCA man Jan Eaachus of many innocent dogs. Please read the extract from Dr Barry Peachey's book and see what he says about the RSPCA man involved in the dogfighting/badger fighting scenario.
This particular story doesn't make sense with the story of the book "Baiting the trap" the newspapers are trying to sell as appeared in all the Sundays (August 27th) !!! I want to know why Michael Butcher is still allowed to carry on like this...Does anyone know?