Dog fights go mobile
DOG-FIGHTING is nothing new in Cape Town, or in South Africa for that matter, but this boggles the mind.
Professional gamblers and dogfighters have literally gone mobile – to make it harder for the police to catch them.
Some are now holding their fight-to-the-death “contests” in the back of moving vans, called “trunking” – while driving around their neighbourhoods taking bets and with music blaring so no one can hear the dogs fighting.
The loser of the fight is simply tossed out and left to die, if it even survives the fight.
Take Hope, for example, a beautiful staffie/pitbull cross who was muzzled and used as bait to make two other dogs fight to the death in a hopeless and dead-end situation in the back of a van.
Miraculously Hope was found, on the brink of death, lying outside the Animal Welfare Society in Philippi.
They believe one of the bystanders took pity on Hope and gave her the slimmest of chances of survival. She was riddled with sceptacaemia and the flesh was literally pulled from her bones.
She has now recovered but is still traumatised.
She is in training to be socialised and desperately needs a home, but it shouldn’t be with other animals at this point.
Este Kotze, deputy chief executive of the NSPCA, said: “Dog fights are not the work of a single lawbreaker but instead constitute a form of organised crime. It is a multimillion-rand industry with an intricate underground web, ranging from impromptu events in a back alley with stolen dogs to a carefully planned and organised enterprise held in a location specially designed and maintained for the purpose.”
The people taking part in dog-fighting are well aware they are engaged in illegal activities so they create a fraternity type of atmosphere, instilling a fear of retaliation to discourage informants and create a double life image through involvement in legitimate dog sport activities, Kotze said.
“The secrecy is at the highest level, so we need to appeal to the public to keep us informed on possible dog fighting rings,” said Kotze. “Our investigations leading up to a potential bust are completely confidential, so although the public may not be aware of what is happening… we are constantly on the trail of suspected dog fighters. “Breaking a dog-fighting syndicate can quickly drain financial and personnel resources.
“The public continues to ask what they can do. Helping to fund these investigations is how our supporters can help stop dog-fighting. Without this support we may not be able to continue this type of work.”
According to Jaque le Roux, who is trying to bring an end to this horrific animal abuse, South Africa has a thriving and increasing industry of underground animal fighting activities, and the country is being marketed abroad as a good place to fight dogs as enforcement is lax. It was easy to bribe public officials and, if caught, the legal process was slow, he said. Provincial SAPS spokesperson André Traut said the police’s hands were tied if no one reported them for investigation. He requested the public to report such incidents at 021 467 8410 or 08600 10111, with anonymity guaranteed.
IS THERE no limit to the levels of depravity and sadism humankind will descend to? We fight over land, we fight over resources, we kill each other in the name of religion, but for what reason do we find innocent animals trained to be killers fighting to the death entertaining? And to place bets on the outcome? What kind of debauchery is this?
Groucho Marx once said: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend… You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.” Paul McCartney repeated that sentiment many times. Immanuel Kant opined that “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals”, but we don’t need an 18th-century German philosopher to tell us that.
Deliberately callous acts indicate a general propensity for violence and the link between cruelty to animals and violence to humans has been well documented.
Research has proven time and again that acts of cruelty to animals are not mere indications of a minor personality flaw in the abuser; they are symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals don’t stop there – many of them move on to their fellow humans.
Murderers very often start out by killing and torturing animals – Jeffrey Dahmer, the Boston Strangler, and the Columbine killers did, to name but a few. So, while to say we should prioritise people in need is true, we also need to get a grip on these syndicates who see animals as nothing but bloodsport and money. What else might they find entertaining? What horrendous activity will they turn to when the high of dog-fighting is no longer enough?
These are not games played by vindictive schoolchildren – they are organised crime syndicates tied into money laundering, drug and gun running, and perlemoen poaching.
Communities need to put a concerted effort into eradicating this abomination or we are all at risk of a number of things. No good can come from someone who has no mercy for an animal, and we will find it most difficult to have mercy on the perpetrators should they be caught.