On Thursday 28 March, Special Assignment exposes the cruel blood sport of organised dogfighting rings across South Africa.
This is a multi-million rand underworld industry where the strongest bloodlines of pit bull dogs are determined through bloody, vicious and deadly fights organised in dog pits at secret locations around the country.
The programme shows how this tight network of dog breeders, show organisers and handlers has turned a cruel activity into a highly systematised “sport’.
Fights culminate in high-end tournaments attended by spectators from across the country. Here, grand champions are determined where the ultimate aim is to mutilate, maim or kill the opponent’s dog.
The offspring of these so-called grand champions are sold for a fortune and even trafficked across South Africa’s borders to international destinations for global organised dog fights.
With almost no legislation around dog breeding in South Africa, this practice continues unabated.
The net is cast wider as young men in townships who desperately want to belong to the macho-world of the “dogmen’ arrange dog fights on an almost weekly basis and place bets on the fighting dogs.
This has especially become problematic on the Cape Flats where gangsterism and drug abuse are closely linked to these dog fighting organisations.
The pit bull dog’s instinct to please its owner is believed to be stronger than its survival instinct – a characteristic called “gameness’ – which is manipulated by “dogmen’ to send their animals into dog pits to face a sure death.
Dogmen is produced by Adel van Niekerk and airs on 28 March at 21h00 on SABC3.
