Badger baiting - 17 dogs seized
Lothian and Borders, SC (UK)Incident Date: Sunday, Mar 4, 2007
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Stephen Scott
» 16 year old male
» 18 year old male
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A fox hunter has been accused of leading Scotland's biggest badger baiting ring after a series of raids.
Stephen Scott, 21, is to be charged with two other men after police uncovered a makeshift vet's "surgery" in Hawick - packed with basic tools used to stitch up dogs injured by badgers.
Seventeen dogs seized from three houses in a series of dawn raids by police and cruelty experts needed emergency treatment for missing jaws and ears and gouges to their bodies.
Police also seized mobile phones they suspect were used to film the fights. Scott and his two alleged accomplices - aged 16 and 18 - are set to be arrested and charged within the next week.
A source close to the probe said: "The evidence found on these raids was horrifying. The injuries to the dogs were severe and people will be charged."
Scott, a forester and fencer, already has a conviction for cruelty to animals. In 2004, he became the first man in Scotland to be convicted under the Protection of Wild Mammals Act after sending terrier dogs down a foxhole.
His lurcher killed a fox after grabbing it by the throat.
Badger baiting is one of the most horrendous illegal animal 'sports' in Britain.
Terriers are sent down a badger hole to scare the animals. When the badger tries to escape, it is hit with a spade to make it angry and forced to fight with pitbulls and Staffordshire bull terriers in a makeshift ring.
Participants place bets on how long it will take the badgers to die.
Mike Flynn, head of the SSPCA's Uniformed Division said: "Badger baiting is incredibly cruel with the animals either being ripped apart by dogs at the sett or taken away to be baited at an organised 'event'. It is one of the most perverse and premeditated forms of animal cruelty."
A Lothian and Borders police spokesman said: "This operation was targeted at individuals suspected of badger baiting.
"This so-called sport is against the law and the injuries dogs receive and the way the badgers are killed is horrific.
"We have not made any arrests yet but our inquiries are ongoing."
Jim McGovern, Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator for Lothian and Borders Police, said the latest raids were just the "tip of the iceberg".
He added: "Every police force in the UK is working with other agencies like the Scottish SPCA in a bid to catch the badger baiters."
The SSPCA offers a reward of up to £1000 for information about badger baiting which leads to an individual being charged. Call the 24hr phone line on 0870 2404832.
Case UpdatesPolice have issued an appeal to anyone who has information on an alleged badger baiting ring in Hawick to come forward.
The officer who led dawn raids on three local addresses which led to 17 dogs being seized last month, is urging the public to help to ensure that those involved are brought to justice.
Officers are poised to book three Hawick men aged 21, 18 and 16 with a number of charges that include killing or injuring a badger, or under the new Animal and Welfare Act.
But despite their terrier and lurcher dogs – currently housed at secret locations outwith the region – displaying a catalogue of old and new injuries, there are no guarantees the owners will be convicted.
Wildlife and environmental crime officer Mark Rafferty, who is in charge of the case, said: "It is difficult for us to infiltrate this world and if the case doesn't go to court, the dogs could go back to their owners. I would urge anyone with information about this secret offence to help."
The men are thought to be part of an illegal ring which, according to PC Rafferty, comprises of people from all walks of life, who set their dogs onto badgers for their own personal enjoyment – despite the practice being outlawed since 1835.
Mr Rafferty went on: "Most people probably believe that badger baiting is a by-gone cruel practice, but I am sure there are still small determined pockets of people in the Borders who are willing to get involved."
Badger baiting involves the animal sometimes being partially disabled by being beaten with a spade, or by having its jaw broken or its legs chained, and placed in a baiting pit or some other arena. It is then attacked by the dogs until it can fight no longer – which can be for more than an hour – before it is killed either by blows to the head, stabbing or shooting.
Referring to the local investigation, Jedburgh-based PC Rafferty explained: "The baiters either send their terriers down the setts during the day when the badger is asleep, or catch them by night above ground with lamps. In this case there was no gambling involved, it is purely about watching their dogs to see whose is braver and more game, purely to get a kick out of it."
The raids on February 14 discovered dogs being kept both inside and outside, with PC Rafferty adding: "It is hard to say whether the dogs were treated as pets or not, but some were in a bad way with old and new injuries."
Anyone who can help is asked to phone the SSPCA's 24-hour hotline on 0870 240 4832. | Source: Hawick Today - March 9, 2007
Update posted on Mar 12, 2007 - 6:06AM |
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