Dogsey

It is part of the shady underworld of the Black Country, where criminals put their dogs’ lives on the line in the name of sport.

Dogs are bought and sold, bred and trained all so that callous owners can get a kick from dog-fighting.

And while there have been no high-profile cases of the crime in the area for a number of years, the man in charge of stopping this sort of crime is in no doubt that it still goes on.

Ian Briggs, chief inspector with the RSPCA special operations unit, has been working on dog-fighting cases across the country for 15 years.

The charity issued a warning in 2010, after a number of dogs had been found with horrific injuries caused by dog fighting around the Black Country.

Mr Briggs said: “The most high profile dog fighting ring I can remember in the Midlands was one in Alum Rock in Birmingham. There we found a bundle of £3,000, which was the purse for the fight.

“Since 2006, the West Midlands has really had more than it’s fair share of dog fighting cases.

“There have definitely been dog fights held in Wolverhampton and other areas of the Black Country as well.

“Historically, the West Midlands has generated more dog fighting investigations than most.”

The smashing of the dog fighting ring in Alum Rock in 2007, saw 26 men convicted for taking part in what was then the largest illegal dog-fight uncovered in the UK.

Years later, RSPCA warned that dog-fighting was on the rise in the Black Country after a spate of seriously injured dogs were found abandoned.

In 2010, at least five dogs were found dumped in Walsall in the space of two months, only two of them surviving.

A dog believed to have been beaten to death was found dead under a paving slab in Chaucer Road, Bloxwich in January, while a bleeding Staffordshire bull terrier called Honey limped into a Walsall tyre and exhaust unit in Fryers Road, Bloxwich, after being badly injured in a dog fight weeks later.

A two-year-old female Staffie-type was found dying on a towpath in Bentley, and a dog named Rocky suffering from ‘the worst case of neglect’ ever seen by local vets was rescued from Churchill Road in Bentley.

Elsewhere, a dead Staffordshire bull terrier was found in a box in Newhall Road, Rowley Regis.