On 27th of February this year. Robert King,33 of Scotia Street, Motherwell, was found guilty on two counts under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and of causing an animal fight to take place, whereby one of the dogs was so severely injured it required to be euthanised.See here.

Today he was sentenced to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and given a Restriction of Liberty Order. Most importantly he was banned from keeping animals for life. More details here and here.

This case was brought following a report from a member of the public Police Scotland attended a site near Carluke Railway Station. Scottish SPCA special investigations unit inspectors, who are experts in animal fighting, were then called to the scene. Inspector Ross McCallum, of Lanark’s Community Policing Team, said: “This is an example of how partnership working between Police Scotland and the Scottish SPCA can make a difference and be effective. “We initially received reports that a man was digging a badger sett with the intention of using dogs to bait and then kill badgers. Our officers attended, contacted the Scottish SPCA and worked alongside them to secure evidence, searched King’s address and reported this to the Procurator Fiscal. “I hope this shows we take wildlife crime seriously and we would always encourage the public to contact us if they believe wildlife crime is happening in their area.”

This shows how effective cooperation between the police and the Scottish SPCA can be. We hope to see more of it in the future.