Monday, October 05, 2009

Polish Police Raid Dog Fight, 18 Men Detained

From: NYTimes
A large police squad raided a dog-fight venue in western Poland Saturday and detained 18 men in what is believed to be the country's first such incident, police said.

"Our 50-strong task force comprising criminal, riot and anti-terrorist police entered a barn in the village of Kapiel near Gniezno while a dog fight was under way," provincial police spokesman Zbigniew Paszkiewicz told Reuters by telephone.

All the detainees were taken to police headquarters for questioning. The animals, some of them injured, were transported to the local animal shelter, Paszkiewicz said.

Dog fights are not specifically banned under Polish law, but the men could face up to two years in prison if convicted on animal cruelty charges.

News channel TVN24 showed scenes of the dogs, mainly pitbulls but at least one Dalmatian, being loaded into police vans.

"This is the first such dog-fight raid I have ever heard of in Poland," the spokesman added.