COPS BUST ‘CUR’
NJ ‘leader’ of global dogfights
A major federal sting operation led to the arrest of the alleged ringleader of a prolific dogfighting operation, shedding light on the “brutal” and illegal bloodsport which subjects animals to horrific injuries, pain and suffering for profit.
Bruce Low Jr., 45, who law enforcement suspects is the “leader” of “one of the top five dogfighting breeders in the US,” was last week arrested after investigators executed search warrants on three New Jersey properties, related to a dogfighting network believed to be operating on an international scale.
He faces charges including racketeering, conspiracy, money laundering, cruelty to animals, dogfighting for gambling on the outcome and falsifying records. Seven alleged co-conspirators — including his mother and business partner Terri A. Low, 67; his son, Bryce J. Low, 20; and his son-in-law, Roosevelt Hart IV, 29 — were also arrested.
More than 120 dogs, including one with a missing leg and many with untreated injuries, were found on one of the Cumberland County properties linked to Low, authorities announced Friday.
“What other hell these dogs endured, I honestly don’t even dare to imagine,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, adding the dogs had been “tortured and abused.”
According to court documents obtained by The Post, investigators located two dead dogs in a fighting pit and noted blood on walls.
“Generally with an operation of that size there’s no doubt in my mind these guys are selling nationally and even internationally,” Humane Society of the US Vice President Adam Parascandola said.
Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, but runs rampant in underground gambling operations, especially in the southwest and northeast, said Parascandola, who helped with the rescue of the surviving dogs at the New Jersey compound.
“There were pregnant, nursing dogs, some severely underweight, a lot of dogs with fairly extensive scarring, some had open wounds and swelling,” he said. “Some were limping with a number of injuries including fractures and broken bones that hadn’t been treated.”
According to Parascandola, the US is one of the main worldwide distributors of “fighting dogs” to countries including Poland, Bulgaria, South Africa and Mexico.
Cops say Low ran the dogfighting operation under the business name Royal Bull Kennels and that he traded videos of fights on Facebook and in private messaging groups.
Low and his attorney, former Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner, did not return calls.
On its website, RBK insists, “We do not break any laws! All of our dogs are used in legal activities.”
But Col. Patrick Callahan, the head of the State Police, said it was “the largest seizure and takedown of a dogfighting ring in the history of the state of New Jersey.”
The dogs have since been treated and placed in shelters for adoption. “They all greeted us with wagging tails,” Parascandola told The Post.