A man has been sentenced after arranging animal fights at locations across the central belt of Scotland in which cats and badgers which were torn to death by dogs. He also filmed and distributed videos of the attacks.
John Dysart appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Thursday 18th September, where he was found guilty of keeping a black lurcher type dog known as Dot and a grey lurcher type dog known as Sky for the purposes of animal fighting. He was given to an 11 month custodial sentence reduced to 10 months and a lifetime ban on owning any animals.
A Scottish SPCA Special Investigations inspector said: “During March 2024, we received information that Dysart had acquired a black bull lurcher and was regularly going out in the late evening and early mornings with two lurcher types for the purposes of killing badgers, foxes and cats, and filming these fights on his mobile phone.
“We also received numerous phone calls to our helpline regarding Dysart posting videos of his dogs deliberately killing a domestic cat in a street in the Alloa area. An anonymous person sent one such video to the SSPCA Helpline.
“The video shows a cat being attacked by a black lurcher-type dog and a grey lurcher-type dog. The attack occurred on a pavement in a residential street during darkness. The attack is illuminated by the light from the mobile phone device recording the fight. A black lurcher-type dog with a purple collar can be seen biting the cat’s back near its rear legs, while simultaneously, a grey lurcher-type dog with a black collar can be seen biting the cat by its throat.
“The cat can be heard whining and groaning as the two dogs maul it to death from either side.”
The Inspector added: “This case represents some of the worst, most deliberate cruelty we have encountered. Not only were wild and domestic animals targeted and killed in horrific circumstances, but these acts were recorded and shared for gratification. We welcome the court’s decision and hope it sends a strong message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Scotland.”
All animals involved have since been adopted and are now living in safe, caring environments.
The Scottish SPCA would like to thank Karon Rollo, Procurator Fiscal Depute of the Wildlife & Environmental Crime Unit (WECU) for her time and dedication in taking on this case. We would also like to thank Dr Lucy Webster a Senior Wildlife Forensic Scientist from Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) who carried out all the DNA forensic work on this case.
The creation of videos and content showing cruelty and violence towards animals being shared online poses a threat to the psychological welfare to those who may unwillingly come across the content, including children.
Mark Bishop, Scottish SPCA CEO says “This was a particularly harrowing case and our team did an outstanding job building a strong case to secure a conviction and protect Scotland’s animals. The presence of STV filming in court today, which is unheard of for animal abuse cases, shows the severity of this crime and the strength of public concern. Animal abuse has no place in our society, and only together, with people across Scotland, can we stop it.”
The Scottish SPCA calls for anyone who comes across content such as animal fighting to please report it to our helpline to help us protect animal welfare in Scotland and prevent psychological harm to anyone else who may come across this content.
The Scottish SPCA is reminding the public that anyone concerned about the welfare of an animal can contact its confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
