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Task team to tackle dog-fighting in Nelson Mandela Bay

STOP THIS CRUELTY: A task team comprising the Nelson Mandela Bay metro's dog unit, Animal Anti-Cruelty League and police is out to stop pit bull fighting in the area.
STOP THIS CRUELTY: A task team comprising the Nelson Mandela Bay metro's dog unit, Animal Anti-Cruelty League and police is out to stop pit bull fighting in the area.

A JOINT task team has been formed to tackle the growing scourge of dog-fighting in Nelson Mandela Bay following the rescue of more than 250 pit bulls - many of them horribly savaged - since January.

The police municipality and animal welfare organisations have joined forces to curb the alarming increase in the horrific "blood sport".

The dog-fighting rings stretch from the Bay to Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Plettenberg Bay and East London, among other places, and vary from organised syndicates to street fights.

The formation of the task team comes just months after a dog-fighting club in Plettenberg Bay was bust and 10 people arrested and charged with conducting illegal animal fights. Eight pit bull terriers, two of them seriously injured, were rescued when police and animal welfare inspectors stormed a house in the Ladywood area after a tip-off.

They found pit bulls fighting in a 12m by 12m cage set up in the middle of the living room. Animal activists were outraged when the suspects were freed on R1500 bail each.

Task team member Captain Flippie Potgieter said the aim was to catch the fight organisers, dog trainers and providers of the drugs used to make the animals aggressive.

The task team includes the police, Animal Anti-Cruelty League and Nelson Mandela Bay municipal dog unit.

"The less organised dog-fighting groups are linked to drug dealing and other crimes involving illegal guns and gangsterism," Potgieter said.

"They are also known to steal dogs. They steal the smaller dogs from residents' yards to use as bait for pit bulls or bull terriers and to train them as fighting dogs.

"The police are passionate about stopping these fights and bringing the perpetrators to book, but we need the public's help. The more people that can give us tip-offs, the better," Potgieter said.

Reports of dog-fighting in the Bay rose to about 150 calls a month this year, up from 100 a month last year.

Experts said the belief that dog-fighting was a "poor man's sport" was misleading as doctors, lawyers, veterinarians and wealthy businessmen were also involved.

Linda-Louise Swain of the Animal Anti-Cruelty League said there were various levels within the dog-fighting underworld, ranging from random street fights to highly organised syndicates.

"Some of the people involved with the organised dog fights are doctors, vets, lawyers and well-off businessmen. There are also the less-organised groups who opportunistically make use of dogs for fighting on the streets," she said.

"We have discovered that these less-organised groups operate mainly in the metro's northern areas, as well as Malabar and Greenbushes."

Swain said these smaller groups were, however, linked to organised syndicates that arranged dog fights for big money. The pool of winnings for a dog fight can vary between R1000 and R100000, and in some cases even more.

"It can be compared to horse racing," Swain said. "People want to bet on the winning dog."

Only one person has been arrested in connection with dog-fighting so far over the past year due to the fights being so well-organised.

"Last year police arrested one man for contravening the Animal Protection Act and that was by chance," he said.

Municipal dog control inspector Rose Connell said the dog-fighting syndicates "were very difficult to catch".

"These fights take place anywhere from inside garages and houses to backyards and pits in the middle of the veld.

"They have lookouts who raise the alarm when authorities come close and everyone runs off before we arrive. It is extremely difficult to catch these fights in the act."

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