Islington Tribune - News: Dog fighting

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Islington Tribune - by SIMON WROE
Published: 31 August 2007

Brian Potter with a hessian-protected tree

Trees under attack as owners train dangerous dogs to fight

Trunks are given protective wrapping to prevent bark being ripped off

DANGEROUS dogs being trained by their owners to fight have killed and damaged trees in Canonbury.
Campaigner Brian Potter says trees in Halton Mansions and Pleasant Row, off Essex Road, are being used as attack posts.
Mr Potter, who is chairman of Islington Federation of Tenants’ Associations, said: “This is something that has suddenly started because there’s a surfeit of fighting dogs. Kids with these massive, vicious dogs have to train them somewhere.
“They can’t set them on people so they set them on the trees. The dogs rip the bark off and they will keep tearing at it until they destroy it.”
Mr Potter has alerted the council about damage to trees, some just yards from the home of Town Hall Lib Dem leader Councillor James Kempton.
“I’ve been telling them for three months to take care of one tree but they haven’t, so I’ve had to fix it up off my own bat,” Mr Potter said.
He wrapped the tree in bin liners and gaffer tape to stop dogs attacking it.
Mr Potter claimed that another tree on the estate had been cut down needlessly by the council.
“There was nothing wrong with the tree,” he said. “It wasn’t interfering with the fence or the pavement. I’ve spent three months telling them to take care of a tree attacked by dogs, and they come along and chop down a perfectly healthy one. The council seem more intent on planting new trees than preserving the beautiful trees we’ve already got.”
Councillor Ruth Polling, the council’s Lib Dem executive member for leisure, said: “Unfortunately, not all residents care for the borough’s trees and our tree service has been called upon to protect trees damaged by vandalism, including damage from dogs.
“Dogs can cause significant damage, or even death, to trees – very quickly – and we often need to respond by wrapping tree trunks in hessian to protect the bark.”
Cllr Polling said the tree chopped down by the council – a self-sown ash – had been found to be “unstable and unsuitable”. It would be replaced with new trees “more suited to that location”.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said dogs were made to bite and hang from trees to strengthen their jaws for fighting.
She added: “We are concerned that more people are using dogs in a threatening way, not just for organised dog fights but as weapons.”

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