Call for badger baiting crackdown in North

New legislation to crack down on badger baiting was demanded today following a major operation against those involved in the practice in the North.

Raids were carried out across Co Armagh throughout the weekend following a six-month investigation stretching across the Irish border and as far afield as France and the USA.

A website especially set up as part of a sting drew those involved in the badger baiting towards the investigation and helped identify them.

The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) said the investigation uncovered “glaring shortcomings” in the policing of laws which were supposed to protect the badger and its habitat.

Successful prosecutions by the agencies charged with protecting badgers in the North were virtually unheard of despite hundreds of the animals being torn apart each year, said the charity.

During the weekend swoops several dogs were seized in a joint operation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the USPCA.

The PSNI said: “Police working in partnership with the USPCA attended a number of premises in the Armagh area following reports of animal cruelty.

“In one incident a number of dogs were removed. No arrests were made and investigations are continuing.”

Three pit-bull type terriers were among those seized and taken into care by the USPCA.