Friend,
Yesterday I wrote to you about the cruelty badgers are facing. Today… I need to talk to you about the dogs. And I’ll be honest, this part is hard for me.
I’ve investigated badger baiting for over 10 years. I’ve stood in muddy fields at 3am waiting for gangs to show up. I’ve followed their vehicles. I’ve seen the setts they destroy and the badgers they drag out. But the dogs they use in these fights… that’s the part that stays with you.
These dogs don’t choose this life, Friend. The men force them into dark underground tunnels, knowing they’ll come back up torn to pieces. I’ve seen dogs with jaws hanging loose. Faces ripped open.
I’ve seen hunters stitch them together with dirty needles on kitchen floors – no pain relief, no antibiotics — because going to a vet risks getting caught.
And if a dog is too injured to fight again?
They shoot her.
Or tie her up and walk away.
After a decade of watching this, I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty: these dogs deserve justice just as much as the badgers do.
Our investigators are fighting for that justice, Friend. We’re exposing the men running these fights, gathering the evidence that leads to arrests, and pushing to shut down every criminal gang that treats animals like disposable weapons.
But we need your voice, Friend. We need people who care, people like you, to help us push for real consequences.
Thank you for being someone I can write to about this.
It means more than you know, Friend.
For all animals,
Jacob Lloyd
Chief Executive
Animal Welfare Investigations Project