Four Convicted for Running European Dog Fighting Ring: RSPCA Finds Injured Dogs, Treadmills, and Graphic Evidence

Four individuals have been convicted for their roles in a European dog fighting ring.

The group, led by Phillip Ali, also known as Dr Death, held fights at a house in Essex, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and France.

Dogs were kept chained to treadmills for training and injuries were treated with a DIY vet kit.

The RSPCA discovered evidence of the ring during visits to Ali's property in Chigwell, where they found injured dogs and dog fighting equipment.

The defendants will be sentenced on 3 June.

This article contains distressing details.

A charity's special operations unit, led by Insp Kirsty Withnall, discovered dogs chained to treadmills in a garden room.

The unit also found hours of WhatsApp voice notes from a man named Ali planning dog fights and describing injured dogs from previous illegal bouts.

Ali's mobile phone contained graphic videos, images, and match reports of brutal dog fights.

Evidence from the phone led police to raid a property owned by Billy Leadley and his wife Amy in Takeley, Essex.

Officers seized 16 dogs from the address, including several bull breeds believed to have been used for fighting, with Billy Leadley having refereed several bouts.

A garage in a property was found to contain a dog fighting pit with blood splatters and measurements of 12ft by 8ft.

Forensic tests confirmed the blood came from at least five different dogs.

In a separate raid, books about dog fighting and a vet kit were discovered at a home owned by Stephen Brown, 56.

A dog was recovered during another raid, and detailed match reports of dog fights were found on a phone belonging to Ali.

The reports described the fights in graphic detail, including injuries to the dogs.

In the text, it is mentioned that Ali and Brown had arranged dog fights with potential prize pots of up to £5,000 through voice notes.

The RSPCA had saved several dogs involved in these fights but some had not been located.

Outside of court, Mr. Muttitt stated that the phone evidence linked multiple defendants together and they had been involved in at least four dog fights.

Billy Leadley was found guilty of eight offenses under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, Amy Leadley was convicted of three offenses, Ali was found guilty of nine offenses, and Brown was convicted of five offenses.