Yesterday I spoke out in a Westminster Hall debate supporting a review of sentences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 relating to illegal dog fighting. It is extremely important to bring awareness to this deeply upsetting issue and I support the Battersea Dog and Cats Home in their fight for more robust sentences for crimes against animals.
Unfortunately, dog fighting still takes
place everyday somewhere in the UK despite being illegal since 1835. Fights vary
in severity and brutality from impromptu street fights referred to as “street
rolling”, to more secretive planned and organised fights. There still remains
to be sufficient research to be done on this cruel “sport” and there is much to
learn about the full extent of its dominance in Britain, which proves difficult
given the secretive, underground nature of these activities and associations. However,
the reports which have been published exist are deeply disturbing and highlight
how heinous crimes of this nature really are.
In the US, dog fighting is now recognised
as a Grade A felony by the FBI, who now understand the urgency necessary to
tackle this gateway crime, due to the link between dog fighting and other
serious crimes such as drug and gun dealing and domestic, child and elder
abuse.
Current sentences in other European
countries are on average, 2-3 years. However, the maximum sentence in the UK is
a disappointing 51 weeks. This shows how vital it is to bring our sentences
into line with Europe and the rest of the world and raise awareness of these
barbaric acts of cruelty.
I was utterly horrified to hear only last
week of one of my constituents in Moodiesburn losing their family pet dog to a
dog which had escaped briefly from a pathetic life of being trained for hours
on a treadmill to build endurance for fighting. This dog had been treated so
badly, it knew of no other reaction than to attack the first dogs it caught
sight of. Increasingly, frequent incidents such as this make it absolutely
necessary to both stand up against animal cruelty and to drive changes to
sentencing.
The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) are
also calling for an urgent review of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Dog fighting fuels
the belief that certain breeds of dogs are more dangerous than others, the reason
the Dangerous Dogs Act was initially passed in 1991, which sought to eradicate
multiple different dog breeds. The science of dog aggression rejects this
approach and shows that the basis for this Act is outdated, as it has been
proved that maltreatment and training moulds a dog’s behavior rather than
simply breed.
Although Animal Welfare is an issue devolved
to the Scottish Parliament, the evidence of increased stolen pets, dumped
carcasses, puppy farming and other inextricably linked issues throughout the UK
all point to a huge problem that needs to be dealt with on a UK-wide level. I
encourage community engagement with this issue to help raise awareness and gain
vital intelligence. Sufficient police funding and education are also key to tackling
animal welfare issues. To eradicate these
abhorrent crimes from our communities,
young people should be taught about responsible pet ownership to break
cycles of cruelty. We should also take a stand against irresponsible breeders
who abuse animals by overbreeding and selling them to people who do not have
the means to care for or train them properly. The way forward is prevention,
understanding and prosecution. Harsher sentences would act as a deterrent to
those considering deliberately training their pets to be violent.