Dog fighting at a street level has exploded in the past few years in South Africa and is increasingly linked to drug dealers and other criminals.Khutso Kopanye, Reginald Xhosa, Neo Dichabe and Reabetswe Sikhana will be sentenced for animal cruelty and dog fighting on March 30. They were arrested in December 2013 by the police and officials of the National Council for Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in a raid in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, during which six dogs were rescued.NSPCA inspector Wendy Willson said: "The guilty verdict sends a strong message to all those who seek their entertainment by inflicting pain and suffering on the vulnerable in this type of violent crime."Another animal welfare group, Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW), which works in townships west of Johannesburg and in North West, said the scourge was widespread."There has been a massive increase of 'power' breed dogs on the streets. The dog fighters are contributing to the culture of violence and people are scared," said CLAW founder Cora Bailey.story_article_left1In some areas dog fights take place nearly every weekend in open fields, deserted buildings and even school yards, residents say.Last week, Margaretha Rina Joubert pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after 23 animals - including many chained pit bull terriers with severely infected wounds - were found on her Vanderbijlpark property in March last year.She was sentenced to a fine of R30,000 or 15 months in jail, with two-thirds of the sentence suspended.Her partner, Fanie Joubert, was arrested at a dog fight in 2011 and has been found guilty of animal cruelty in two separate cases."Dog fighting at a street level was unheard of in South Africa 10 years ago and now it is an epidemic," Willson said."The central hubs used to be the Cape and Gauteng, but now it is everywhere. Dog fighting crosses all cultures and occupations, doctors and lawyers, and is rapidly growing among young people."The NSPCA has eight dog-fight dockets in court, each involving several accused. For example, 18 people were caught red-handed at a dog fight with 14 dogs in Tsakane near Nigel in December 2013. They will be in court later this month.The maximum sentence is a fine of R600,000 and three years in prison.Willson said that at one Springs school, children staged imitation dog fights in which they took the part of the dogs."The children mimicking dogs would bite, bark, growl and rip off each other's clothes, and their 'owners' would take bets," she said.In Kliptown, Soweto, CLAW was approached by men with pit bulls wanting free vaccinations. CLAW treats only animals which are sterilised but the owners refused to do this."They threatened us and smashed our medicine boxes," Bailey said. "Dog fighting is not just a problem for animal welfare, it's also about crime."Banning pit bulls not the answer, say expertsstory_article_right2"Sweetie" runs over to the woman sitting under a tree, jumping up playfully and affectionately nuzzling her face and neck.The rescued pit bull's scars reveal she is a veteran of many fights. Her distended teats indicate that she has been bred many times.Pit bulls have been bred for 300 years for their loyalty. But many breeds - often the result of crossbreeding bull-baiting dogs with terriers - were used in blood sports, making them predisposed to aggression towards other animals. Further crossbreeding with "power" dogs like boerbuls, in combination with cruel treatment, can lead to unpredictable behaviour.NSPCA inspector Wendy Willson said attempts in other countries to ban the dogs had not been effective.Animal welfare activist Cora Bailey said banning pit bulls would drive the problem further underground and dog fighters would find another breed to abuse.sub_head_start Blood sport for 'fun', money and pride sub_head_endStreet fightingThis is impromptu, blood-sport entertainment. Usually the "shows" are short and the dogs may fight to the death since aggression drives them. The dogs are typically American pit bulls, bull terriers and the odd boerbul. The owners have a high turnover of pu , and stealing is common. The fights are often recorded and shared, and this increases over holidays.'Hobbyist' fightingThis is more organised and secretive, at a set location and time, with a focus on betting and bloodlines.The only breed is American pit bulls and the dogs are better fed and trained, and are given steroids and supplements.They suffer severe harm and are given human drugs after a fight, if they don't die of exhaustion and injuries in the combat, which is controlled by "Cajun rules". Dogs seen as "game" will drag broken limbs into battle if their owner says "scratch" [fight].Pro fightingThese fights are planned months ahead by a few families nationally, and use pit bulls with top bloodlines. The super-athletic dogs are trained intensively with weights, chains and bait animals such as cats. The status of a win counts more than money at this level...