Birmingham Dog Fighter Jailed
A serial dog fighter, who was involved in one of the biggest dog fighting cases the RSPCA has ever taken, has been sent back to prison and banned for life from keeping dogs.
Barkat Hussain was one of the main organisers of the notorious Alum Rock* dog fight in 2006, which resulted in 26 men being successfully prosecuted by the RSPCA. However, just weeks after his release from prison last year, Hussain was found with three pit bull type dogs and equipment used to train dogs in connection with fighting during a raid on a Birmingham barbers.
RSPCA inspectors and officers from West Midlands Police executed warrants at Scissor Edge and the first floor flat above it, on Dudley Road, on 15 December last year as part of Operation Rye.
Hussain, of Unett Street, Smethwick, was jailed for four months and given a life ban on keeping dogs when he appeared before a district judge at Birmingham Magistrates Court yesterday (MONDAY).
Chief Inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said: “Dog fighting is an obsession for Barkat Hussain. Despite being sent to prison and banned from keeping dogs after the Alum Rock case, within weeks of his release he was back in the thick of Birmingham’s dog fighting activity.
“Some people still think it is acceptable to train dogs and fight them for their own gratification, but it is one of the most extreme and persistent forms of animal cruelty the RSPCA investigates. As long as there are people like Barkat Hussain who continue to follow this barbaric practice, we will continue to track them down and prosecute them.”
The 44-year-old (D.O.B 10.10.64) admitted three charges of possession of dogs banned under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. He had admitted one charge of possession of items adapted for use in connection with animal fighting and another charge of keeping or training animals for use in connection with animal fighting, contrary to the Animal Welfare Act.
Hussain also admitted breaching a five-year ban on keeping dogs that he received as part of his sentence for the Alum Rock fight.
His latest prosecution follows intelligence gained as part of the RSPCA’s proactive investigation into dog fighting in Birmingham. The inspectors that carried out the raid last December found the three dogs, as well as equipment used to train dogs for fighting, including a treadmill and a breaking stick. A home veterinary kit was also seized, including a half-empty bottle of the drug Euthatol, which is used to euthanase dogs.
The RSPCA inspectors found Hussain in the first floor flat where the three dogs were also discovered. One of the animals was chained to a banister, while two more were kept in small cages in a separate room. One of the dogs had 59 old scars to its head, consistent with injuries suffered from fighting.
Hussain was arrested by police officers at the scene and taken away for interview. When questioned he claimed the equipment was left over from his previous offences and he was no longer involved in dog fighting. However, on inspection his mobile phone was discovered to contain video footage of a dog fight and photographs of pit bull terrier type dogs.
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