MEMBERS of a dog-fighting where animals were "treated with makeshift medical kits rather than taken to qualified vets" have been jailed for a long string of animal welfare crimes.
The ring, run by a brutal kingpin known as Dr Death, saw dogs endure brutal training regimes and were starved to fighting weight before being sent to brawl, sometimes to the death, Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Monday.
The animals suffered serious injuries and were kept in dirty conditions, some with no access to clean drinking water or proper bedding, and some being left caged and alone for long periods.
Injured animals were treated by members of the fighting gang with makeshift medical kits rather than taken to qualified vets, in order to avoid detection.
Judge Jamie Sawyer said the fights, which took place in England, Ireland and France, were “highly planned and without a care for the welfare of the animals in question."
The judge told the defendants: “Dogs were treated as a commodity by each of you. They were playing pieces in your game.”
Most evidence came from a phone belonging to Phillip Harris Ali, 67, of Manford Way, Chigwell, also known as Dr Death.
This included photos and videos of dogs and gruesome match reports detailing how the animals were set upon each other, sent via encrypted messaging app Signal.
Ali was sentenced to a total of five years for ten offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
His 'right-hand man', Stephen Albert Brown, 57, of Burrow Road, Chigwell, was jailed for two years and six months after he was found guilty of five offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
As the fighting ring’s medicine man, he got illegal veterinary medication and equipment and was involved in training dogs and arranging fights.
Personal trainer Billy Leadley, 38, who had a dog fighting pit at his home in Bambers Green, Takeley, was jailed for a total of four years for 12 different offences.
The judge said reading a report about one 58-minute fight, where one of the animals suffered two broken legs with Leadley as a referee, was 'horrific'.
His wife, Amy Leadley, 39, who was not directly involved, was sentenced for various offences linked to keeping premises for dog-fighting and not caring for the animals properly.
She was given an 18-month community order, 200 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity.
All four defendants were banned from keeping dogs for ten years.
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