A CRUEL yob who filmed horrific animal fights has been handed a jail sentence and a 20-year ban on owning or keeping dogs.
Sean Ward, 27, was arrested after a woman spotted him with an injured Jack Russell terrier near Bishopton in April last year.
The dog was limping and had cuts and blood on its limbs and chest, as well as a severe injury to its face.
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The woman, who was concerned for the dog and suspected it had been in a fight, decided to film the animal.
Scottish SPCA inspectors later raided Ward’s home, along with police, and seized a number of items, including a mobile phone. They also found a Patterdale Terrier with scars on her face.
Greenock Sheriff Court heard that the dog was taken to a SSPCA base, where she was examined by a vet and found to have injuries consistent with face-to-face fighting with a badger.
Ward, from Port Glasgow, admitted keeping three dogs for animal fighting, as well as possessing and sharing videos of animal fights.
In one video, dogs are seen being urged to attack a helpless deer.
Ward has now been ordered to spend seven months behind bars and it will be two decades before he is allowed to keep animals again.
Sara Shaw, head of the wildlife and environmental crime unit at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “Dog fighting is a cruel and wholly illegal act and I welcome this sentence and the granting of the order preventing Sean Ward from keeping dogs for 20 years.”
An investigation by the SSPCA uncovered text messages in which Ward described setting dogs on a fox as “some buzz.”
He was also found with a video showing a man restraining a live deer by its hind legs as other voices urge dogs to attack it.
A member of the SSPCA’s undercover special investigations unit told The Gazette: “In April 2018, our animal helpline received a call from a person concerned for a Jack Russell terrier type dog they had seen in a remote field with several injuries.
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“After analysing evidence, we were led to the residence of Ward and, through a warrant, seized an electronic device which contained video footage, images and text messages relating to animal fighting, hunting and trapping animals in order to set dogs on them.
“The deer which was filmed would have had no chance of escape and allowing it to be savaged by these dogs was a cruel and heinous act. It would have suffered a prolonged, painful death because of the dog attack.
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“This is a truly barbaric and horrific case which resulted in pain and suffering for the dogs in Ward’s care and the wild animals targeted for ‘fun.’
“We are glad the court has dealt with this and a prison sentence has been handed down.”
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