An Ayr man bought cats on Gumtree to use as bait when training his dogs to kill wild mammals.

Mark Cuthbert, 42, was sent to prison for 10 months at Ayr Sheriff Court yesterday having pled guilty to keeping three dogs, cats and a rat for the purposes of animal fighting. In addition he was banned for keeping animals for 10 years.

As well as his 10-month jail sentence, he was banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

The court heard Scottish SPCA inspectors went to Cuthbert’s home with a warrant on 16 March last year where they found three Patterdale Terriers – two of them older dogs and the third a puppy.

A specialist vet found the older animals, called Digger and Billy, had multiple injuries, some of them recent, consistent with fighting a badger and there were pictures of his dogs with apparently dead and bloody badgers .

This case is the most recent in a string of operations by the Scottish SPCA who seem to be having considerable success in detecting and prosecuting those guilty of the vile crime of animal fighting.

Current moves to increase penalties for this sort of crime will be welcomed by all those who are aware of this dark, sadistic and depraved underworld that forms such a blot on our society.

For more details and VERY distressing video click here and here.