March 28, 2012Produced by Adel van Niekerk
It’s a multi-million rand underworld industry where the strongest bloodlines of pit bull dogs are determined through bloody, vicious and deadly fights organized in dog pits at secret locations around the country. These dog fighting rings also have ties with global syndicates in the multi-million dollar underworld of the so-called “dogmen”.
In this investigation we show how this tight network of dog breeders, conditioners, show organisers and handlers has turned a cruel activity into a highly organized “sport”. The fights culminate into 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 tens of thousands of rands and even trafficked across our borders to international destinations for global organized dog fights. With almost no legislation around dog breeding in South Africa, this practice continues unabated. On the lower tier of these dog fighting rings are young men in townships who don’t have the money or know-how to produce thorough-breeds, but who desperately want to belong to the macho-world of dogmen. Although less organized, they also arrange dog fights on an almost weekly basis and place bets on the heads of one of the fighting dogs. This has especially become problematic on the Cape Flats where gangsterism and drug abuse are closely tied in with these dog fighting bands. The pit bull dog’s instinct to please its owner is believed to be stronger than its survival instinct – a characteristic called its “gameness” – it’s a trait that’s manipulated by dogmen to send their animals into dog pits to face a sure death. Ironically, all the dogmen we interviewed spoke with affection about their dogs in a misplaced believe that this “gameness” is a sign of the dog’s ultimate love and loyalty towards its handler.
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