Dog fight man jailed
A sick Handsworth man who converted the downstairs of his home into an illegal dog fighting venue was jailed this afternoon for four months.
Adio Clarke, of Holly Road, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates' Court to four charges relating to illegal dogs.
Jobless Clarke was also banned from keeping dogs for 10 years.
The court heard that when police raided 22-year-old Clarke's home, they found 11 pit bull terriers, all suffering injuries apparently caused by dog fights.
One of the animals, which are banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act, was found to have 157 separate injuries. Another dog had suffered a broken pelvis and another had had one ear almost severed.
At an earlier hearing, Clarke pleaded guilty to two counts of owning an illegal dog, one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and one count of owning a venue used for dog fighting.
Nick Sutton, prosecuting, said that because the dogs were held illegally, Clarke was unable to take them to a vet to receive proper treatment. He said Clarke had treated the injuries himself, often inadequately or ineptly.
When officers raided Clarke's home in April last year, they found six pit bulls chained up in the garden, more dogs inside the house and a video showing two young dogs attacking each other in a sparring bout.
Chief Inspector Mike Butcher of the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit said he was pleased with the four-month sentence.
Meanwhile, two men and a woman have been arrested after a suspected training ground for illegal fighting dogs was raided in the Frankley area of Birmingham. They found eight illegal bull terriers in cages.
The dogs, which are classed as dangerous under the 1991 act, are expected to be put down.
