Dog fighter in Wales sentenced to jail

A man convicted of dog fighting has been sentenced to six months in custody and banned from keeping animals for 15 years. David Brinley Braddon was convicted following a major investigation by RSPCA inspectors.

The 47-year-old South Wales man was sentenced on July 15 in Caerphilly Magistrates Court. In June he had been found guilty of keeping a dog for fighting and of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by failing to seek veterinary care for its wounds. He was also found guilty of possessing equipment associated with training dogs to fight. The RSPCA reported that their special operations unit and South Wales Police searched Braddon’s home in March 2009. They found five pit bull terrier type dog, two treadmills with attachments for dog collars, weighing scales and penicillin Duplocillin. One of the dogs they found, Otis, fit the name, description and photos of a dog listed in fight magazines and reports. He was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and will not be able to appeal the ban on keeping animals for 10 years. Braddon was cleared of charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a second dog and of keeping four more dogs for fighting. In a press release, Chief Inspector Ian Briggs from the RSPCA’s special operations unit said, Organised dog fighting is a notoriously secretive activity, yet nearly 200 years since it was outlawed, there remains a hardcore minority of people who think this barbaric 'sport' is still an acceptable form of entertainment” He said he considers Braddon’s conviction to be a major breakthrough, as he appears to have connections deep within the world of dog fighting. Braddon has lodged an appeal against the conviction and sentence.