Mike Butcher

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A BBC investigation into the Dark World of organized dog fighting discovered an illegal trade in fighting dogs, from Eastern Europe to Wales.

The Fighters are willing to face. It plunges us into a clash of the pine. The floor is already speckled with blood.

The win is easier, locked on his opponent. The Black has lost the ability to fight back. Now it is struggling just to survive.

Finally, he tries to leave, But collapses, legs giving in, the head on the ground.

The Fight is over. It dies the next day.

dogs do not do it, of course, experts say.

they are trained to encourage of Men who smile, and bet, as you tear apart your animals.

This is fighting the disturbing world of organized dog.

In 2016, the BBC was informed only about dog fights of The British charity organisation, The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS )

Former police officers key actors had been identified in an international scene.

"come on, It is still a significant amount," says The League ,-the head of the investigation, Martin Simms. In The Last year, the organization has 100 calls about The Dog , and was almost fighting to be running a confidential hotline.

The Charity had proof, that were the Men , the breeding, training, buying, selling, and betting on dogs fighting, or, as they are also in The Business "game for dogs".

LAC investigation code-named Operation origin, was supported by The Internet .

animal-fighting is an old pastime that, like most subcultures, it has now found its place online.

Grand championsFor "dog Men " - and it is almost always Men - Reputation is the currency that counts.

in order for the merits in particular of dogs, and breeders are now discussed on Facebook, on specialist closed forums, and in - Between the parties - to messaging apps.

Sometimes you are working in plain sight, with the terminology for the average reader might not understand. A dog could be described as a Grand Champion (Gr Ch), five-time winner or a champion (Ch) with three victories.

you are not talking of Crufts.

a Former police detective, Mark Randell, running Hidden-In-Sight, private investigation Agency, specializing in wildlife crime. He led The Lacs investigation until 2017.

" " Ch "circles in the kennel club, But in a different context," he said. "'Ch' next to a large, muscular dog with a chain and face injuries are always dogfights. "

Randell has identified around 70 British people associated with dogfights.

But The Lacs investigators collect The Evidence had been working secretly.

publication of their covers would blow up. So in 2017, we began Our Own investigation in The International dogfighting scene, and we were able to a promising Target .

investigators say there is "still a significant amount" of dogfighting Los Ivaylo Nikolov is 37, an intelligent, friendly, English-speaking Bulgarian from the Danube town of Ruse in the North of the country.

Ivo, as we came to know Him , is in relation to a company, buys, sells, and transports dogs from around The World .

of The Balkans, the centre of Europe, dogfighting business.

Ivo liked to document his work on Facebook. The League Against Cruel sports has gathered contributions, suggesting that he has traveled to 29 countries, including the United Kingdom, with his dogs.

But among the messages, status posts and check-ins were interesting hints.

A picture of proposed to The Animals he transported had not merely torn the family Pets.

A dog next to the bars of his travel cage, causing bloody damage in The Process .

In other places, he slipped occasionally, and dogfighting terminology.

It was time to find out more about Him .

A photo appeared to show, a dog had torn the bars of his travel cage, We asked to send an Italian animal Protection investigator Sylvia (not her real name) Ivo WhatsApp-messages begin.

she told Him that she had relatives in a cabin on a interested in purchasing a certain type of dog.

One of them, Nik was. Older, with an impressive beard, he looked the part.

Nik was from the countryside of Northern Italy, and spoke no English. Sylvia would translate for Him in English.

Neither Sylvia nor Nik were experts in accordance dogs, But behind the scenes, a former Police Officer with decades of experience in the investigation of dogfighting, was also working for the BBC, advises you to use the correct language.

Sylvia sent Ivo a picture of a fake hand-written note from The Hunters , a shopping list of The Dogs you were interested, (with a real shopping list for the food at the bottom added, As If she had been short of Paper . )

given The Dogs to fight, some for hunting, But also pit bulls, The Breed of choice for dog.

The American pit bull Terrier is nearly rooms, the only kind willing to fight for a long time. It is a prohibited Act under the UK's controversial Dangerous dogs.

Silvia sent Ivo a list of The Dogs , they wanted A "very Good Dog 'Ivo took The Bait . The Business began to develop. The hunting dogs were forgotten, as The Weeks went on.

Finally, Ivo Sylvia and Nik offered a "very Good Dog ".

"Reliable and ready for the Match ," he wrote in a message. Nik, he said, "might bet good money on Him ".

The Price of 3,000 euros (around £2,698) plus would cost. The Dog would be cared for Ivo's contact, a kennel in the Republic of Moldova, A Day 's journey from Bulgaria.

up to this point, we'd learned a lot about Ivo and his dogs. The International seller had been keen to demonstrate its credentials.

His WhatsApp messages to Sylvia, and Nik up-to-date on the dogfighting scene held.

He sent a video of a Match - apparently, The Dogs show mentioned in his messages of struggle in an unknown location in Eastern Europe .

Sylvia received a Match report. "A victory in an hour and 17 minutes," was a message. Fights sometimes stretch up to two hours.

"to keep the video private, Please," he added.

Ivo began our investigators send recordings of air fighting Two Weeks later he planned a trip to The Caribbean , where he has a fight expected to see the seven air.

But , finally, he sent a battle video, including a dog, he was offering for sale.

The video is hard to watch.

at the end of The Dogs with the blood are covered. The observation of the Men used to keep a "break sticks"- to pull apart The Animals in the hands are also red with blood.

The confrontation is what is known as a "role" - an informal game sometimes used to prove in order to fight a dog will.

'True, Pure Love 'Ivo offered to our undercover investigator roles.

"We have fun in our field," he said.

He appeared to have a Genuine Love for The Dogs But also for dog fighting. Now, he believed that our investigators shared his feelings.

He said: "It is always a very great pleasure for me, when I meet people with such great desire, and I'm not talking about sales, money or Anything Else . I'm only talking about the true, Pure Love for The Game . "

Nevertheless, it was partly about money. Ivo was sold was impressed with The Dog he is, he wanted to bet on you ", if he is willing to play The Game ".

What we have, was his home address, or kennel, to which he was connected.

He was careful not to give away this important information.

and So we started to lure the planning, Him to a meeting. All he had suggested was illegal in Bulgaria.

in the Meantime, information from The League Against Cruel sports has led us to valuable sources of information about dogfighting online.

they contain subject-specific web pages, where owners data set are the pedigrees of their dogs, and sometimes the results of their games.

do not you use your real identity instead of hiding behind nick names or the name of your kennels.

Who Iceboy was? Wales linkIn 2014 someone with the name of The Gameyard posted a picture of a pitbull named Iceboy.

So, who was Iceboy, and, above all, who is The Gameyard was?

The key was in the background of the image, which we determined from the shapes of the hills in the distance and in the vicinity of the building, as Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales , near the Brecon Beacons .

In fact, it was possible to locate the exact Position at which the image was Taken - a patch of grass within walking distance of the apartment from dogfighter Kerry Evans .

But not, at this point, to prison.

dog fighting in the UK is A Crime that attracts maximum penalties of six months, handed down by a judge to be heard rather than in a Crown Court .

activists say that must change.

We decided to take a closer look at Evans , or rather his dogs - so we started to investigate, The Animal is "blood line".

The origin is an important concept in dogfights. Dogs that are well appreciated in The Fight . Those described with tenacity, such as the display of the "wildness".

Those who are too shy to be dismissed as a "mutt".

Kerry Evans was found guilty of keeping or training Pit Bull Terrier

animal welfare, dogs

Source of news: bbc.com