"Kirkwood pack members admit dog fighting charges"

From the BBC:

Three members of an east Belfast dog pack have admitted animal cruelty offences described by the police and USPCA as among the most serious they have seen.

Buster, a bull terrier, and his sons Corky and Wizard, all from Island Street, admitted attacking cats and other animals in their neighbourhood.

They also pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to four puppies. Jasper, an English Mastiff from McAllister Court, pleaded guilty to similar charges.

The investigation into the pack's activities began more than two years ago when video footage was recovered from a mobile phone. One clip showed dogs attacking a badger. In another, the same dogs set on a cat that they had trapped in a cage, tearing it to pieces.

A police officer welcomed the animals' guilty pleas and said pets and wildlife should contact them if they had suspicions about such activity.

The judge's order that the four dogs be put down has been suspended pending an appeal to the European Court of Animal Rights.