National
Police bust dog fighting ring─── 05:39 Tue, 05 Nov 2013
Investigations into the multimillion-rand illegal dog-fighting business have resulted in the smashing of a major syndicate and 14 severely injured animals being rescued.
Drugs believed to include prescription painkillers, used to dull the pain of the injuries inflicted on the fighting dogs so that they will continue to maul each other, were confiscated.
A number of the animals, which were rescued from the back yard of an East Rand house on Sunday, were so badly injured that they had to be euthanased.
The raid was carried out by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the police. It was the biggest of its kind in 18 years.
"We know that dog-fighting goes on across the country but we do not know who is behind it or where the money comes from," said NSPCA acting chief executive Este Kotze.
"We suspect there are international role-players.
"We were extremely lucky with this raid ... the discovery came from an anonymous tip-off."
She described the scene discovered by the NSPCA inspectors and the police as "horrific".
"The reality of the terrible suffering and violence was evident.
"The extent of the injuries of some of the 14 rescued dogs was so severe that several were beyond salvation."
The tip-off led the NSPCA to a small house in the East Rand's Tsakane township.
Sixteen people were arrested.
Walls nearly 3m high, solid steel security gates and lookouts protected the privacy of those watching the blood-letting inside.
The raid took place as a fight was in progress.
Kotze said: "It was one of several planned. Everyone present was involved and they were placing bets. We recovered a number of drugs, both for human and for animal use."
She said the dogs, which had been mated with pitbulls, had been bred for fighting.
"None of them had been stolen. Each was bred by this fighting community and used to fight over an extended period.
"This investigation, which culminated in the largest successful raid on a dog-fighting syndicate since 1995, is continuing."
The raid, she said, proved the "reality, horror and extreme cruelty of dog-fighting".
"Dogs used in fights often die from blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion and infections."
Kotze said the syndicates were difficult to stop "... virtually impossible to uncover, with those involved running their barbaric sport as a secret underground network, communicating by means of social networks about venues, times, breeds and the strength of their dogs. "This is the tip of the iceberg. We often get calls but seldom do we uncover a network like this, especially with fights in progress.
"The people involved seem to be like you and me ... regular people with a regular job."
Police spokesman Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said the suspects were aged between 22 and 48. Four of the 16 were granted bail.
"The rest, who appeared in the Tsakane Magistrate's Court, are in custody and will appear in court on Monday to apply for bail.
"They have been charged with animal cruelty." No drug-related charges have been included on the charge sheet.
"We are looking at their means of communication ... apparently through special social networking sites on which they talk about the time and places of fights, the type of dogs that will compete. They also post pictures of the animals."
Two months ago, Eyewitness News reported that a single fight in Rustenburg raked in R1.5 million in bets.
Timeslive; EWN
Drugs believed to include prescription painkillers, used to dull the pain of the injuries inflicted on the fighting dogs so that they will continue to maul each other, were confiscated.
A number of the animals, which were rescued from the back yard of an East Rand house on Sunday, were so badly injured that they had to be euthanased.
The raid was carried out by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the police. It was the biggest of its kind in 18 years.
"We know that dog-fighting goes on across the country but we do not know who is behind it or where the money comes from," said NSPCA acting chief executive Este Kotze.
"We suspect there are international role-players.
"We were extremely lucky with this raid ... the discovery came from an anonymous tip-off."
She described the scene discovered by the NSPCA inspectors and the police as "horrific".
"The reality of the terrible suffering and violence was evident.
"The extent of the injuries of some of the 14 rescued dogs was so severe that several were beyond salvation."
The tip-off led the NSPCA to a small house in the East Rand's Tsakane township.
Sixteen people were arrested.
Walls nearly 3m high, solid steel security gates and lookouts protected the privacy of those watching the blood-letting inside.
The raid took place as a fight was in progress.
Kotze said: "It was one of several planned. Everyone present was involved and they were placing bets. We recovered a number of drugs, both for human and for animal use."
She said the dogs, which had been mated with pitbulls, had been bred for fighting.
"None of them had been stolen. Each was bred by this fighting community and used to fight over an extended period.
"This investigation, which culminated in the largest successful raid on a dog-fighting syndicate since 1995, is continuing."
The raid, she said, proved the "reality, horror and extreme cruelty of dog-fighting".
"Dogs used in fights often die from blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion and infections."
Kotze said the syndicates were difficult to stop "... virtually impossible to uncover, with those involved running their barbaric sport as a secret underground network, communicating by means of social networks about venues, times, breeds and the strength of their dogs. "This is the tip of the iceberg. We often get calls but seldom do we uncover a network like this, especially with fights in progress.
"The people involved seem to be like you and me ... regular people with a regular job."
Police spokesman Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said the suspects were aged between 22 and 48. Four of the 16 were granted bail.
"The rest, who appeared in the Tsakane Magistrate's Court, are in custody and will appear in court on Monday to apply for bail.
"They have been charged with animal cruelty." No drug-related charges have been included on the charge sheet.
"We are looking at their means of communication ... apparently through special social networking sites on which they talk about the time and places of fights, the type of dogs that will compete. They also post pictures of the animals."
Two months ago, Eyewitness News reported that a single fight in Rustenburg raked in R1.5 million in bets.
Timeslive; EWN
