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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: September 2007

Fourteen of 26 defendants are sentenced & lectured in British dogfighting case

 

BIRMINGHAM--Fourteen of 26 defendants in one of the biggest dogfighting cases brought to British courts in decades pleaded guilty on September 3, 2007, and were fined from £500 to £1,300, plus £80 court costs.

The case is unusual in that all 26 men arrested at the February 2006 dogfight are Muslims --as is Birmingham Magistrates Court district judge Kal Qureshi, who lectured the men about their "sadistic and cruel" behavior.

"The event itself is best described as sadistic," Qureshi said. "In my view it involved inflicting unimaginable pain without any pity for the animals."

Qureshi fined them less than the maximum £2,500 because they were first-time offenders.

Dogfighting in Britain has historically not involved immigrants and ethnic minorities, and in recent years has often been a pursuit of so-called skinheads espousing anti-minority attitudes.

Twelve defendants elected to go to trial, including the two men who allegedly organized the fight. Both dogs involved were killed.