Fighting dogs’ owner jailed after using cats as live bait

● Horrific footage seized at his home ● Feline victims found on Gumtree

A man who bought cats online to use as bait for his dogs to attack and kill has been jailed for ten months and given a ten-year ban from owning or keeping animals following an undercover investigation by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mark Cuthbert, 42, of Thornyflat Place, Ayr, pled guilty to keeping dogs for the purpose of an animal fight and killing a cat at home and at another premises.

He had been using the online site Gumtree to buy cats for his dogs to kill.

Acting on intelligence that Cuthbert had dogs used for fighting, the SPCA’S special investigations unit (SIU) obtained a warrant to search his house. They found his dogs had injuries consistent with animal fighting and suspected he had been drugging them.

Investigators seized an electronic device which contained video and images of animal fights. This included footage of Cuthbert’s dogs killing badgers and domestic cats. Items in the clips matched animal fighting paraphernalia discovered at his home. Among the items seized at the address were tracking collars, nets, live animal traps, syringes, superglue and pet carriers. DNA analysis of these supported the case that many of the items were used for animal fighting.

The dogs involved in the case are a black and white Patterdale Terrier, Billy, and two brown bitch Patterdale Terriers called Digger and Tally.

Commenting on the investigation and court case, a Scottish SPCA undercover SIU officer said, “This is a truly horrific case of animal cruelty, where we suspect dozens of animals have suffered mentally and physically at the hands of Mark Cuthbert. His inhumane treatment of animals is completely unacceptable.

“We investigate reports of animal fights every week and the imagery and videos we discovered on his phone are some of the most depraved and upsetting we have seen. One harrowing video shows the three dogs attacking a domestic cat in a field which is fighting for its life. It’s clear the cat was caused horrendous suffering and many of the cats he purchased will have suffered long, torturous deaths.”

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “Animal fighting is a far more endemic issue in Scotland than most people think.”