Four men jailed over 'horrific' dog fight

Four men were sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday after a dog fight in 2013.

The three dog owners and the organiser were convicted in February this year along with 13 others for the dog fight in Tsakane‚ Ekurhuleni.

The court ruled that 10 of the 17 convicts were “spectators” and handed down two years correctional supervision (house arrest) and 360 hours of community service. One pleaded guilty earlier and two of the convicted are still awaiting sentencing.

“They are not allowed to own another animal or firearm and cannot be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics‚” the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) said in a statement.

TimesLIVE reported that in November 2013 the raid was described as the biggest in 18 years.

Then NSPCA acting chief executive Este Kotze described the scene the police and NSPCA inspectors found as “horrific”.

The raid took place as a fight was in progress. They rescued 14 dogs‚ but only one survived as the rest were seriously injured and euthanised.

Walls nearly 3m high‚ solid steel security gates and lookouts protected the privacy of those watching the blood-letting inside.

Kotze said the fight was one of several and attendees were placing bets. Drugs for humans and animals were also found.

She said the dogs were bred for fighting and mated with pit bulls.

“None of them had been stolen. Each was bred by this fighting community and used to fight over an extended period.”

The NSCPA said on Wednesday: “It has been a trying four years filled with numerous challenges to get this case finalised‚ but we did not‚ and would never‚ relent until justice was served for these dogs.”