SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has attended a parliamentary reception at Westminster this week held by animal welfare campaigners League Against Cruel Sports, highlighting the horrific reality of dog fighting.
Mr Durkan heard about Cupcake, a Staffordshire bull terrier, who has become the ‘poster dog’ for a campaign which is calling for tougher sentencing and a national register to tackle the scourge of dog fighting across the UK.
Before she was rescued, Cupcake was subjected to horrific abuse by her dog fighting owners.
Used as bait to train other dogs to fight, her teeth were broken with pliers to remove her only defence.
She had sustained multiple injuries and scars including a head trauma from being slammed against walls or punched, which may lead to her losing an eye.
She was also overbred to provide puppies which would either be trained to fight or used as bait themselves.
Mr Durkan said: “There are thousands of dog owners in Derry and throughout the North who will be shocked to hear how animals in the dog fighting world are abused.
“Further action is needed to tackle this sadistic bloodsport – including stiffer sentences as a deterrent to those who force dogs to fight one another.”
The League Against Cruel Sports has also started a petition calling for more government action to tackle dog fighting – including increasing sentences for convicted dog fighters. The petition can be signed at www.league.org.uk/dogfighting