I felt my stomach turning as I read this article. It is very upsetting but something that should be known if we are all to work against this kind of abuse.
Thanks to icSouthlondon.co.uk for this horrible news.
Dogs become ‘fashion victims’ of cruelty
Jul 13 2007By Joshua Layton
POLICE are investigating reports that dogs are being kicked, punched and left hanging by their teeth from branches in a Norbury park.
Residents living by Norwood Grove Recreation Ground have witnessed thugs regularly dishing out cruel treatment to Staffordshire bull terriers.
The yobs apparently mistreat their pets for simple entertainment but it has left local animal lovers horrified.
A 42-year-old man, from nearby Covington Way, who did not want to be named, said: “I have seen young men kick and punch the dogs.I think it’s to try to toughen them up. They just hit out for no apparent reason.”
In one sickening stunt, dogs have been made to bite a lowered branch of a tree which is released, leaving the dog dangling in mid-air.
Another resident near the park, a woman aged 52, said she now tries to avoid the park after witnessing the thoughtless mistreatment.
She said: “I used to go to the park about three times a day, now it’s only once.
“My dog was also attacked by Staffordshire bull terriers – they are out of control. It’s the owners’ fault because they don’t give the animals any love.”
Another Covington Way resident, a woman of 65 who again is too scared of reprisals to be named, first grew concerned after being woken at night by petrified squeals emanating from the park.
She said: “I am a dog lover and me and my husband used to own a Staff.
“I know the noises they make and these were not nice noises,they were horrible. It sounded like the dogs were fighting.”
She alerted the police on June 28 after she again heard squeals and two squad cars arrived within minutes,but no arrests were made.
A spokeswoman for the RSPCA was unsurprised to hear the reports.
She said: “Staffordshire bull terriers have become a fashion statement among a certain section of people.
“It does cause concern and we get a lot of cases involving the dogs, in Croydon as much as anywhere else.
“We have had cases of them being starved to death, beaten and kicked, neglected and dumped. The dogs can be absolutely fantastic and are very gentle,but it is down to the way they are kept.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed that officers had been called out at 12.53pm on June 28 to a report of a Staffordshire dog being abused.
She said: “The local Safer Neighbourhood team is now investigating and enquiries are continuing.”
Pictures of the Staffordshire bull terriers appear on the “bebo” social networking web-site against the logos of various south London and Croydon gangs.
