SEVEN men convicted of involvement in the largest organised dog fight uncovered since 1990, which took place in Birmingham, are facing jail amid fears the blood sport is growing in popularity.
The RSPCA said the discovery of a total of 26 men at the contest at a kitchen showroom in Alum Rock last February is further evidence of an apparent revival in dog fighting.
A three-week trial at Birmingham Magistrates' Court was told that those caught at the fight were herded on to a double-decker bus to be taken away for questioning.
Some of the men later claimed to be attending a Blues party, while one asserted that the fighting pit occupied by two pit bull terriers was in fact a dancefloor.
The court watched graphic video of the fight, which lasted for 90 minutes and showed the terriers, named Bullet and Elvis, squealing in pain as they were encouraged to bite each other.
Their trial was told that one dog, which had been pushed up into ceiling tiles in an attempt to hide it, died a few hours after the fight and the other was so badly injured it had to be put down 48 hours later.
Finding 10 men guilty of various charges in connection with the fight, district judge Khalid Qureshi said obvious suffering had been inflicted on the pit bull terriers involved.
He issued fines ranging between £750 and £1,400 to five of the men, who were found guilty of just one offence, and remanded the other five defendants on bail for sentence at the same court on October 18, along with two other men who admitted several offences prior to the trial.
Mr Qureshi told the seven men who will be sentenced next month that the offences they had committed crossed the custody threshold and all sentencing options would be considered.
Those who will face sentencing in October are: Barkat Hussain, of Smethwick; Intikab Hussain, of Ward End, Birmingham; Sohail Hussain, of Saltley, Birmingham; Zahir Ahmed, of Aston; Ummar Ahmed, of Birmingham; Waqqas Mughal, of Smethwick; and Zahoor Hussain, of Ward End, Birmingham.
