From dogs having their ears cut off by shears to kittens used as bait: Inside the secretive and cruel world of illegal dog fighting – and the tell-tale signs it’s happening in your area
It's a heartbreaking thought but, all over the country, innocent dogs are being trained as killers and forced to fight
BULL terriers and Brazilian mastiffs strain at their heavy metal chains as they feel the atmosphere in the cavernous room buzz with anticipation.
Bets worth hundreds of pounds are waged before the dogs meet their sparring partners in the pit and wrangle for hours until a victor emerges, a few bites away from death, bloodied and even disembowelled.
Men huddle round and cheer as their chosen fighter gouges flesh from another dog, in what sounds like a scene from a shameful history book.
But it's 2018, and these dog fights are still taking place in disused spaces, parks and front rooms all over the UK.
Shocking estimates by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) reveal that a form of illegal dog fighting could be taking place every day.
LACS began investigating this phenomenon three years ago, when incoming calls suggested the blood sport was still happening - despite being outlawed in the UK in 1835.
Blood sport Britain
Between 2006 and 2015, the RSPCA received more than 4,800 reports of organised dog fighting, and secured 137 convictions for dog fighting-related offences.
A pilot investigation in the Bedfordshire area revealed several cases which served as proof of the problem’s prevalence.
In one case, an undercover researcher was offered a £1000 puppy for dog fighting and the LACS team also learned of dead dogs being dumped near farmland after fights.
This weekend, three mutilated dogs were found dead at the edge of a country road between Milton Keynes and Bedford, with injuries suggesting they may have been victims of this cruel practice.
“It is concerning that they had injuries to their bodies which suggested they had suffered and at this stage, we are not ruling out that they were used for dog fighting,” the RSPCA told the Sun Online.
Chris Pitt, of the League Against Cruel Sports, says from the moment they are born, to the moment they are killed, professional fighting dogs live a life of misery.
He told the Sun Online: “We want dog fighting to be recognised as one of the most serious forms of animal cruelty. It is ritualistic abuse and we need people to be locked away for it”.
Streets of shame
A report commissioned by the charity outlined the three types of dog fighting.
It begins as a "street roll" - impromptu fighting between particularly tough or strong breeds, such as pit bull terriers, which are the most consistently exploited and abused breed of dog today, even though they are a banned breed under the UK’s Dangerous Dogs Act.
Breeds such as dogo Argenintos, Staffordshire bull terriers, bull terriers, French mastiffs, Pakistani mastiffs, Neopolitan mastiffs and olde English bulldogges are also often bought as protection and sometimes, as a status symbol.
From rural areas to major cities, this is the common form of dog fighting.
Taking place in urban parks and housing estates, dogs may be tethered on a chain and taken off for the fight, which is arranged on the spot and lasts a few minutes.
Owners involved in this level are predominantly young men, who may have gang connections.
For them, "rolls" are just part of street culture.
The fighting circuit
The next step up is at a hobbyist level, with fights operated on localised circuit and taking place in abandoned buildings, garages or even living rooms.
Hobbyist fights can be gang related, so attendees may include gang members or close friends or acquaintances of the dog owners.
"Pits," made from wood or tyres, are used to keep the fight enclosed and there is almost always gambling involved at this level.
Unregulated betting is a big concern, as there is potentially thousands of pounds at stake.
Meanwhile, sophisticated dog rings host professional fights several times a year in the UK, involving spectators, referees, rules and timekeepers.
These brutal and horrific fights can last for up to five hours and unless an owner decides for to pull their dog from the pit, it is a fight to the death.
A highly organised and secretive operation, contracts are drawn up between dog owners stipulating the date, location, dog weight, referee and betting stake.
The Alum Rock dog fight in Birmingham, in February 2006, drew a crowd of 26, and five men were prosecuted following the event.
After police had broken into the kitchen interiors shop where the fight took place, they had to flag down a double decker bus to take all involved to the police station.
A black pitbull terrier named Elvis staggered towards the police as they approached and a badly-mauled brindle pit bull called Bullet was later discovered in a cupboard.
Both were treated by RSPCA vets, but Bullet died within hours and Elvis had to be put down days later.
During the court case, district judge Kal Qureshi called it “sadistic…[an event that] involved inflicting unimaginable pain without any pity for these animals”.
Like horse racing, a prize dog will be bred to create more champions and reputable bloodlines will be documented with their parentage and the number of wins achieved.
Forced to kill
Although some breeds are stereotypically viewed as "fighting" dogs, by nature, these animals do not want to engage in combat.
They are loyal creatures and will follow the orders of their owner.
This is why they comply with the cruel training regimes they are forced into, which might include running for hour-long sets on specially made treadmills, treading water in pools and hanging off a tyre suspended above ground with rope, to improve jaw strength.
Dog fighting was traditionally carried out in secret locations using pits, and while this still takes place, there also seems to have been a shift towards more impromptu street 'rolls' in urban areas or in parks.
This means the number of dogs being caught up in the horrific world of dog fighting has probably increased, according to LACS.
In comparison to other European countries and the US, perpetrators of animal cruelty in the UK face minimal penalties.
While Americans can face up to three years in jail and $250,000 (£178,900) in fines, the maximum UK sentence for animal cruelty is just six months.
It is also offence to attend, supply, publish or possess a video of a fight.
Charities, including LACS, have been campaigning to extend the sentencing to five years and their 2017 petition received 20,000 signatures, prompting the government to announce a toughened up sentence in September of last year.
Chris Pitt says it is imperative that the promised legislation is instigated.
“One in four people in the UK own a dog," he said. "Most of us love our dogs and often treat them as part of the family.
"The thought of our dog being brutalised, beaten and forced into a fight against another dog until it’s kill or be killed is the stuff of nightmares. We simply can’t let dog fighting get a grip in this country.”
Know the signs
One way to fight back against this phenomenon is being able to spot the tell-tale signs.
Trained fighting dogs are generally good with people, but can become uncomfortable or unsettled around other dogs if they’re challenged.
Their ears may cropped back, most likely done privately, with shears and without anaesthetic, to stop an opponent grabbing onto them or to make the dog appear tougher.
Its teeth may also be filed or ground down by constant straining at a metal chain.
Puncture wounds around the head, neck, chest and front legs may be in various stages of healing from the fight, while damaged, swollen or missing lips are typical of injuries sustained in the pit.
Scarring shows through as white spots in the fur of darker-coloured dogs.
Due to the illegal nature of this combat, owners will often refuse to take their dogs to a veterinarian, instead opting to stitch wounds themselves, or use staple guns or super glue.
The RSPCA told the Sun Online that dog fighting is cruel and barbaric and the dogs used in this underworld are left with horrendous injuries.
“It is painful, wholly unnecessary and illegal to carry out in England and Wales. It does not benefit the dog in any way and can be detrimental to their health, behaviour and welfare,” says a representative from the RSPCA.
But, shockingly, it is not just the fighting dogs who suffer in this cruel bloodsport.
Smaller dogs and animals, such as rodents or cats, are used as "bait" for a dog tethered to a wall.
During training, the bait animal is placed in front of a tethered dog, who will strain against its chain and, in effect, strengthen its upper body muscles.
Eventually, the dog will be allowed to make the kill.
One investigation into the blood sport even revealed that a feral cat colony had been kept specifically for use as bait.
How to spot dog fighting in your area
Sustained and loud barking from multiple dogs in gardens: Fighting breeders may keep and train a lot of dogs in a small space, and sustained, distressed calls from the dogs could be a sign of this.
Tyres hanging from trees: This set-up is used in training, with the dog made to hang from the tyre by its jaw to strengthen its bite.
Scratch marks in public parks: Makeshift pits can pop up in public parks and then vanish, but gouges on the ground, as well as blood stains, can show where a fight was staged.
Dogs with puncture wounds or missing limbs: Surviving fighters will often limp away from a fight with bite marks, or missing limbs. Scars on black-furred dogs will often show up as white patches.
Dogs whose ears have been cropped back: This practice makes it harder for rival dogs to latch on to the ears, and can make the animal look more menacing.
Raise your concerns by contacting the League Against Cruel Sports’ Animal Crimewatch line on 01483 361 108 or the RSPCA’s 24-hour animal cruelty hotline on 0300 1234 999.
Fighting back
The RSPCA is the country’s leading organisation in tackling dog fighting and the charity’s Special Operations Unit has been investigating reports, rescuing dogs and prosecuting perpetrators for nearly forty years.
One such case began on March 5 2017, when a black and white Staffordshire bull terrier was discovered cowering in a garden in Aspenden, Hertfordshire.
The dog, named Kali, was covered in both historic and fresh wounds, which led police to make the assumption she had been used in fighting, right up until a few days before she was found.
Her owner, 44-year old Neil Forrest of Meadow View, Aspenden, was tracked down by the police and found to be keeping several other dogs that were clearly being used like Kali.
His involvement in this abhorrent, secretive bloodsport was likely to have been going on for years.
On February 15 2018, Forrest was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and keeping or training a dog for use in connection with an animal fight.
He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison and has been disqualified from keeping animals for the rest of his life. He was also ordered to pay £750 in costs.
Countless studies, including a 2012 report, found that young men who owned dangerous or status dogs were widely associated with or involved in other criminal activity, including actual bodily harm, threats to kill and drug possession.
In September 2009, for example, the BBC reported that four people had been sentenced after participating in what was labelled as ‘one of Europe’s largest dog-fighting syndicates.
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Links were found between the syndicate and a gang in Northern Ireland with paramilitary connections, who supplied American pit bull dogs.
Members of the ring also travelled as far afield as Finland to attend fights.
According to PETA, one American detective is reported to have told the New York Daily News: “you can get more drugs and guns off the street by breaking up dog rings than you would by breaking up drug rings”.
A £5000 reward is being offered by the League Against Cruel Sports for information that leads to a conviction regarding the three dogs found over the weekend. Anyone with information about the discovery should call the LACA’s crimewatch hotline or email crimewatch@league.org.uk. It can be done anonymously.