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Two dogs fighting - Source: ONE News -
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The barbaric blood sport of dog fighting is rearing its ugly head again with many recent incidents uncovered across New Zealand.
Just over a week ago, authorities raided a house in south Auckland after a dog fight was posted on YouTube.
That footage prompted the authorities to act.
"We started to wonder whether there was a renaissance in dog fighting. Certainly at the lower levels of dog fighting and I must confess, I was a little bit concerned," says the SPCA's Jim Boyd.
So concerned, that the SPCA and police issued a search warrant and raided a south Auckland house fearing it was the centre of a dog fighting ring.
A dog owner at the property was issued with a written warning for pitting his own dogs against each other.
"There has always been this lower level of dog fighting, which we effectively call street fighting, where people will face each other and say 'My dog's better than your dog," says Boyd.
In April Lincoln, an old Ridgeback cross, was stolen and used as bait in a dogfight in Titahi Bay near Wellington.
The offender failed to appear in court this week on 16 charges relating to animal welfare.
While few dog fights are to the death, the SPCA says most end with both dogs totally exhausted and severely injured. Owners and dog fight organisers can be jailed for up to three years or fined at least $25,000 if an animal is killed during a fight.
"We do take it very seriously. It's a blood sport, it's barbaric and it's totally unnecessary," says Boyd.
But it is a secret blood sport, which hard to expose and generally kept alive by gangs.
