Anthony Holloway from Dumbarton convicted of dog fighting charge

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A MAN from Dumbarton has pleaded guilty to training dogs to fight and to distributing videos of dogs attacking badgers.

But an animal welfare charity says it's "frustrated" that Anthony Holloway was only banned from keeping dogs for four years, rather than for life.

Holloway, 28, of Hawthornhill Road, was stopped by the Scottish SPCA, and unnamed associates returning from Ireland where they had been on a badger baiting trip.

They were caught at Cairnryan ferry port near Stranraer in October 2019. They had four dogs with them - Patterdale terriers, Honey, Dodger and Floss and a Lakeland terrier type dog called Red.

All the dogs were found with scars and one had fresh wounds consistent with animal fighting. 

Items of clothing, some stained with blood, were removed from the scene and were later identified as belonging to Holloway from images gathered as evidence.

The images showed Holloway actively involved in ‘digging’, which is the act of unearthing a badger sett so a fight can commence between badger and dog.

In the same images, equipment used for badger baiting could be clearly seen. One of which is a locator collar, something put on a dog who will go in to the sett to locate a badger so it’s clear where the digging should take place.

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The dogs were seized by the Scottish SPCA and a full veterinary examination of the animals showed scarring around the face, head and jaw.

The vet determined that all of the dogs had injuries consistent with being used repeatedly to fight animals, predominantly badgers.

Holloway was handed a community payback order requiring him to carry out 270 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a four-year ban on keeping dogs after he admitted training his dogs for the purpose of animal fighting under Section 23 (1) (a) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

He was also convicted of supplying videos of animal fighting contrary to Section 24 (a) of the same Act.

Holloway has a previous conviction dating back to 2015 for being in possession of more than £1,800 of stolen goods which included golf bags and clubs, garden tools, a bike, a falconry hood, and a portable barbecue, as well as a pressure washer.

READ MORE: Dumbarton man Anthony Holloway caught with £1,800 of stolen goods

An undercover inspector from the Scottish SPCA’s special investigations unit said: “It’s difficult to say how many animals suffered at the hands of Holloway. It won’t just be the wild animals involved in fighting, but his own dogs too.

"He showed a complete lack of regard for their welfare. Badgers can be lethal and we have had to put animals to sleep in the past due to the injuries they sustained during a fight with a badger.

“While we view every prosecution as a success, we are disappointed with the sentence Holloway received.

“We had asked for Holloway to receive a lifetime disqualification on owning or keeping dogs so we are frustrated with the four-year ban. This does not reflect the level of cruelty Holloway allowed to be inflicted on wildlife and his own dogs.

“We were hopeful that the overhaul of animal welfare legislation, where maximum sentencing was increased, would be utilised by the court and act as a deterrent for anyone else considering undertaking such abhorrent crimes.

“We use the latest of techniques to trace offenders. We can sometimes spend years gathering information against individuals and the weight of this evidence can force offenders to plead guilty.

“We’d like to thank DNA specialists SASA who assisted with our investigation by identifying badger and fox DNA on recovered items.

“We want to send a very clear message to those taking part in animal fighting in Scotland. We will do everything we can to stop animals suffering and bring those involved to justice.

“The public are our eyes and ears so we would urge anyone who knows anyone involved in animal fighting to come forward.

"If it’s someone close to you, then calls can be treated confidentially and sensitively but please do contact us. We can help.”

Anyone with concerns about animal fighting can contact the Scottish SPCA’s animal helpline in confidence. The number is 03000 999 999.