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Dog-fighting: Wigan breeder John Psaila jailed

A dog breeder, thought to be a "big player" in British dog fighting, has been jailed and banned from keeping animals for at least 15 years.

John Psaila, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, admitted 14 offences including training animals to fight and possessing equipment for fights.

The RSPCA described his home in Thornvale, Abram as a "training school" for fighting dogs.

Psaila, 49, was jailed for 121 days at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court.

He was charged under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The RSPCA launched an investigation after being tipped off that he was involved in organised dog fighting and an allegation he was preparing to take a dog to a fight.



More here..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...ester-31593184

Your comments and views:
JTVN
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Joined: Mar 2012
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24-02-2015, 07:34 PM
Surely a life-time ban would have been more appropriate
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Meg
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24-02-2015, 08:33 PM
Surely a life-time ban would have been more appropriate
..definitely and more than 101 days in prison. A stint of working cleaning and helping out under supervision in a large rescue kennel would be a good idea too...
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mjfromga
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24-02-2015, 08:45 PM
I read the article. It doesn't say that the dogs were injured, and there doesn't appear to be any solid proof that he fought dogs. Just lots of heresay. Lots of pitty owners use treadmills and protein powder for bragging rights, they're not always fighters.

Moreover, all responsible pit bull owners should have a breaking stick on hand. This goes especially if you own two intact males. For such a "big game" player, you'd think they could acquire some actual proof before they convict... perhaps the article just left this out.

Looks like they (the defense) caved when there wasn't even any solid evidence that he fought dogs. Oh, well. I have a feeling that's why he wasn't given a lifetime ban and more jail time.
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Meg
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24-02-2015, 08:51 PM
John Psaila, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, admitted 14 offences including training animals to fight and possessing equipment for fights.
Originally Posted by mjfromga
I read the article. It doesn't say that the dogs were injured, and there doesn't appear to be any solid proof that he fought dogs.
See the quote above, Psaila admitted training animals to fight, you don't get a lot of injured fighting dogs many are dead.
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mjfromga
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24-02-2015, 09:10 PM
Yes, his defense admitted it. Yes, they accused him of it. And? Things don't work like that here. They found no dead or injured dogs, they have no visual proof of him attending a fight, they don't even have proof a fighting ring exists.

As for the injury part, that is wrong. There are tons of injured dogs in fights. You use the "vet kits" to help heal them up, then you fight them again. Especially the winners. There are likely more injured than dead dogs in organized fighting.

I guess in the U.K. the stuff they found counts as proof. Sure wouldn't here and if they had nothing else, it would be stupid for a defense to cave and make a guilty plea.

Whatever, if he fought dogs, there was likely other proof elsewhere, and if there wasn't, the prosecution scared the defense into thinking there was. Owning illegal breeds like that looks bad in any case.
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Meg
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25-02-2015, 11:58 AM
Yes, his defense admitted it. Yes, they accused him of it. And? Things don't work like that here. They found no dead or injured dogs, they have no visual proof of him attending a fight, they don't even have proof a fighting ring exists.

As for the injury part, that is wrong. There are tons of injured dogs in fights. You use the "vet kits" to help heal them up, then you fight them again. Especially the winners. There are likely more injured than dead dogs in organized fighting.

I guess in the U.K. the stuff they found counts as proof. Sure wouldn't here and if they had nothing else, it would be stupid for a defense to cave and make a guilty plea.

Whatever, if he fought dogs, there was likely other proof elsewhere, and if there wasn't, the prosecution scared the defense into thinking there was. Owning illegal breeds like that looks bad in any case.
mjfromga
Myra you can defend and make excuses for dog fighting all you like , it has no place on this earth as far as I am concerned and those involved with it in any way should have a life time ban on dog ownership.
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mjfromga
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25-02-2015, 12:05 PM
Defend and make excuses for dog fighting? Oh, please. Step off that! Nice try, though. I just believe that to convict someone, you need more than some exercise equipment and a bunch of he say, she say.
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Mr.Bulldog
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 70
Male 
 
25-02-2015, 01:07 PM
He could not be specifically convicted of fighting animals unless caught with the dogs in the act. There are however a plethora of conspiracy based charges in regards to aiding or enabling an illegal activity that can be brought. Naturally "training dogs to fight" is an ambiguous charge and would require proof before a jury in conjunction with the other evidence. He was guilty though, you could call reasonable doubt on most of the stuff but we all know what the staple guns are for, he most likely decided to plead under weight of evidence.
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mjfromga
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Female 
 
25-02-2015, 02:10 PM
Yup, I believe that he was most likely guilty. Owning the illegal dogs plus the equipment was really enough within itself. I also believe the defense did cave under the weight of the evidence. I didn't see a mention about a staple gun, but I did see that he had vet equipment. But they still had no proof that he had actually fought any dogs. To plead guilty to all charges when there was no proof seems absurd to me. I mean, even if you're guilty... that doesn't seem like a smart move by the defense.
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