How a computer mixture conducted a BBC survey to unmask the greatest dog fighters in Europe

Dog fights are as secret as they are barbarians.

People behind illegal blood sport carefully hides their identity, fearing arrest and prosecution.

However, the computer mixture of a dog hunter conducted an investigation under the BBC coverage to unmask some of the people involved in “one of the largest combat networks for dogs in Europe”.

The BBC followed the fighting of fighting in improbable places in the United Kingdom – from a very frequented accommodation in the field of a majestic house.

A simple click by a member of a member of an online forum online Top Secret revealed the brutal reality of today’s dog fights.

The flight revealed graphic match reports documenting the fight after the fight, an injured animal after an injured animal.

A great intelligence transport was quickly harvested by charities of animal welfare, the League against Cruel Sports (Lakes) and the Ulster Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals (USPCA).

It was the first overview of a very secret international dog union – the one that the BBC has spent the last six months investigating and exhibiting.

“I can’t really put words in fact, it was just Golden,” said Russ Middleton, a former police officer who has become a head of intelligence for lakes.

The law through the United Kingdom prohibits not only fighting, but also the possession of combat dogs, train them to fight, exchange animals and even the filming of combat without reason.

“There were a whole range of different DOG fighters, all collaborators, chatting, sharing videos. This gave us a real overview of the global perspective of dog fighting.”

Mr. Middleton described the network as “one of the largest in Europe”.

Following a trace of hidden evidence in photos, publications and online videos, the BBC was able to exhibit an organized network of illegal dog hunters-the one that extends from the United Kingdom, across Europe and beyond.

Dog fights are much more common than people think, according to the experienced veterinarian David Martin who was an expert witness in previous cases of dog fights.

“It probably happens in all the major cities and cities of the United Kingdom.

“These are huge amounts of abuse and cruelty at each stage,” said Martin.

The League against Cruel Sports has received more than 600 dog fighting reports since 2024, these reports increasing by more than 50% in the past two years.

However, he says that the number of dog fights that take place in the United Kingdom is impossible to quantify – the secret of the fighting means that much more take place than being reported.

For activists like Russ, any dog ​​fight is too much.

The BBC investigation has found several dog dogs based in the United Kingdom, hiding in improbable places.

In a case, the owner of a dog who had recently killed his opponent in the pit, had a kennel nestled in a very frequented accommodation in the county of Armagh populated by families and their pets.

“They want to keep their dogs out of sight, they do not want to be identified by the authorities as someone who has dogs who are prohibited,” said Martin.

“They should be extremely cautious if they were going to take their dogs to the environment to ensure that their dogs did not meet other dogs, otherwise there would be blood effusions.”

Another kennel was found hidden in the park of one of the most famous majestic houses in Northern Ireland, Shane’s Castle Estate.

The fields of the domain were used by Boneyard kennels to house and train combat dogs.

The USPCA and Lakes have identified Boneyard Kenens as one of the most important dog fighters in the United Kingdom.

Castle Estates of Shane told BBC News or that he was opposed to dog fighting and was shocked to learn that a dog fighter operated in his field.

He said that if it had known, it would have been arrested.

The BBC identified the man behind Boneyard Kenens like David Patterson, a martial artistic coach of Antrim County.

We have drawn around 40 battle pit bulls at the Boneyard Chenils-corresponding to several pre-combat dogs of dogs in a closed garden at the bottom of the Shane Castle Domaine.

David Patterson denied having participated in dog fights and said he was not a member of any international dog fighting network.

He said he often takes care of dogs for other people and is interested in human and animal physical form.

The BBC has also seen evidence suggesting that Craig Kitson, a Patterson partner, was also a member of the dog fighting network – operating under the alias Spongebob.

The name Spongebob has been listed as a referee in several dog combat reports for dogs and a dog manager from Kennels de Boneyard.

Craig Kitson previously made the headlines for a graphic video that he held his deceased dog.

His muzzle is recorded, Mr. Kitson bit the dog’s ear, suggesting that it was a punishment for the dog that bit his child.

Craig Kitson told the BBC that he was not actively participating in dog fights and that he was not the person identified as the sponge.

He expressed a deep contrition on the video in which he bit the dog’s corpse, declaring that he had not been responsible for his death.

Passing as a dog hunter, the BBC was able to infiltrate online platforms and gain the confidence of members of the larger European network.

After several months, a member of the union was willing to meet in Amsterdam to sell a combat dog to the team.

Zoltan Borbe, known as alias NFK, was secretly filmed by boasting with his combat dogs.

“I have a big woman champion whom I may sign here for the seventh game,” he said-without knowing that he was talking to a BBC journalist.

A large champion is a term used for a dog that has won at least five fights.

Borbe sent videos of the black pit bull he sold, a two -year -old child named Ruby, to display what is called his player – the determination of a dog to fight in the pit.

Zoltan Borbe later denied the involvement of dog fights, telling the BBC that he invented history to sell dogs.

The secret surrounding dog fights means that few animals are rescued – those who often risk being euthanized. In the United Kingdom, pit bulls are a prohibited race.

Ruby was placed in a center in the Netherlands which is trying to rehabilitate high-risk dogs thanks to training programs.

“It’s just a lot of observation,” said Hella Van den Beemt, the main therapist of the center.

“To be just towards the dog, you always have to enter with an open heart and simply give the dog each piece he needs and you bind with the dog.

“They always have a chance, but there are many factors that we have to consider in this.

“If he is really strongly anchored in a character, then we have to calculate the risk.”