Dog Fighting and The Law
Dog fighting has been illegal in the UK since 1835, and is currently banned under the ‘Animal Welfare Act 2006’. Despite this, dog fighting continues today throughout the UK, due to serious issues regarding the enforcement of the Act.
Dog fighting can occur in a variety of ways, from impromptu fights occurring on the street, to organised fights, with £100,000s wagered in bets on the outcome.
One of the issues with dog fighting is the cruel training methods involved, such as chaining dogs to treadmills to increase their stamina and hanging them from trees for hours at a time to increase their upper body strength. Other animals such as kittens are frequently reported to be used as ‘bait’ for the dogs to chase and kill to mimic fight scenarios and to get a taste for killing.
Another issue is the poor veterinary care. The “owners” of the dogs, known as ‘dogmen’, use makeshift veterinary equipment to treat any injuries the dogs sustain during fights.
Dog fights are concluded when one dog cannot fight anymore due to the number of injuries suffered, or is killed.
The Act states at s8(1)(a) that ‘a person commits an offence if he causes an animal fight to take place, or attempts to do so.’ An offence can also be committed in several other ways, such as making or accepting ‘a bet on the outcome of an animal fight’ (s8(1)(e)), keeping or training an animal for a fight (s8(1)(h)), and ‘possessing a video recording of an animal fight’ without ‘lawful authority or reasonable excuse’ (s8(3)(d)).
One of the problems the police face when trying to enforce the dog fighting ban stems from the covert, underground nature of the dog fighting scene. Messages between “owners” are often encrypted for privacy, and organised dog fights are highly secretive; people can often only attend via prior invitation.
Although there is broad consensus that the occurrence of dog fighting is significantly underreported, the RSPCA asserts that from 2020-2023, the frequency of dogfighting has increased by over a third. This drastic increase highlights the inadequacy of current attempts to enforce the ban. The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has suggested that enforcement can be strengthened by recording dog fighting as a specific offence, rather than the current offence which is a general ban on all animal fights, which it believes may increase reports, and provide a better understanding of the magnitude of the problem. This would also help enable police to gauge what resources are needed and where.
A further issue of enforcement relates to NGOs, and the responsibility placed upon them to tackle the problem, rather than official public bodies. Currently, the RSPCA and LACS are the leading experts in the field. The RSPCA has a ‘Special Operations Unit’, and LACS has the ‘Animal Crimewatch Team’, which both investigate and monitor dog fighting. Despite these efforts, in practice NGOs often lack the resources and practical experience of the full range of policing techniques to fully investigate and prosecute crimes relating to dog fighting.
Public bodies, such as local authorities may be able to address this issue by creating policies in hotspot areas (such as Greater Manchester) that facilitate cooperation between police, NGOs, and wider society. Professor Francesca Ortiz, animal law lecturer, recommends that local task forces be created to increase collaboration. For example, knowledge sharing within and between police departments, and between police and social services. During home visits, social services can then look out for items spotted connected with dog fighting (such as ‘break sticks’ used to pull fighting dogs apart). This may create a more holistic approach to enforcing the Act and reduce the financial burden on NGOs, if police forces continue to expand their role in tackling dog fighting.
