The League has launched a campaign to highlight the problem of dogs being used for fighting with other animals.
This includes ‘traditional’ dog fighting but also goes much further. We’re talking about badger baiting, where a dog is set onto a badger, almost always resulting in the death of the badger and often causing horrific injuries to the dogs involved. We’re also concerned about the apparent rise in urban dog fighting, where people are using dogs to fight foxes and other dogs.
We have campaigned against ‘terrier work’ for many years, and through this campaign we’ll step up the pressure. ‘Terrier work’ is where a terrier dog is sent into a fox earth or another form of fox habitat to get the fox to bolt so that it can be hunted. We see this as little more than a dog on fox fight, and we have lots of evidence that shows the horrific cruelty involved.
Throughout 2010 and beyond, we will continue to lobby the relevant authorities for better enforcement of the Hunting Act. Our confidential Fighting Dogs Crimewatch telephone service (01483 524 250) enables members of the public to report suspicious incidents that they think might be related to fighting dogs. And in July, we’ll be hosting a national conference to look at enforcement of the law and how offenders can be discouraged from repeat offending.
At our Fighting Dogs Conference on 2nd July, we published a Briefing Paper titled
The Fight Is On and you can download a copy. The Conference - full proceedings from which will be available to view on this page by mid-July - also saw the launch of the League's latest campaign film.
To coincide with the campaign launch in April, the League released a video.
Watch it now>>>
In July 2010, the League's Annual Lecture was delivered by Dr Kelly Daley, who conducted research for the University of Chicago and the Humane Society of America on The Causes of Urban Dogfighting. You can watch the lecture below.