Jail for animal fight man who ‘engaged in depraved acts’

A man who arranged for his dogs to fight badgers has been jailed after a sheriff branded his behaviour “barbaric”. phone footage, text messages, hunting magazines and knives stained with badger blood. Three dogs were seized. Two of these, lurchers named Buck and Bolt, had injuries to their faces consistent with badger or fox fighting.

Connor told investigators he treated his dogs’ injuries with staples rather than take them to a vet because it was quicker.

Mr Jones said a picture from Connor’s phone showed another lurcher, Darcy, with a serious injury to its face.

He told the court: “Inspectors believe Darcy is now deceased though there is no confirmation of this.

“A vet said its injury was consistent with face-to-face combat. There would have been a serious risk of infection and treatment from someone other than a vet would have been unacceptable.”

Mobile phone pictures showed Connor at a badger sett at Ravenscraig.

In messages with friends he referred to fights.

On one occasion he spoke of “my puppy taking a hammering in a fight last night” and later told of another dog being “smashed to bits” by a badger.

Connor also discussed with a pal how “dispatching” injured badgers with a knife was better than “letting dogs kill them”.

He spoke about shooting the creatures and when he heard about an injured badger told a pal: “I’ll go there to kill it after work.”

Defence agent Jackson Bateman pointed out that Connor had made a full confession when confronted by the SSPCA inspectors and had handed over his dogs willingly.

The solicitor added: “He was only 18 at the time and comes from a family who viewed that sort of behaviour as acceptable.”

A member of the SSPCA’s special investigation unit said:“We became aware of Connor following an enquiry into an abandoned Patterdale terrier, found in the Carnwath/Carluke area, which had injuries consistent with badger baiting and fighting.

“The dog had to be euthanised due to the extent of his injuries.

“We welcome the sentence handed down to Connor. He engaged in depraved acts that showed his complete disregard for animal welfare

“He caused extreme levels of suffering to the wild animals involved, put his three dogs at great risk of injury or death and failed to get any veterinary treatment when they were injured.

“Sadly, these types of offences are common across Scotland, resulting in the most serious suffering to the dogs and wild animals.”