Badger baiting is on the rise in Wales, the RSPCA has warned.
The brutal 'sport' uses specially bred dogs to hunt the striped creatures in their natural woodland habitat. Once stunned, wounded badgers are often hauled in sacks to staged combat with terriers and daschunds.
Badger baiting was outlawed in 1835, with legislation further strengthened by the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act.
However, the shocking practice is becoming increasingly widespread in rural parts of Wales.
Badgers are formidable fighters, capable of attacking much larger creatures. Their weight, strength and speed (they can reach up to 19 mph over short distances) ensure that only the most savage dogs survive, with both creatures often sustaining hideous injurious.
Ian Briggs, chief inspector with the RSPCA's special operations unit, said:
"It's just gangs of lads coming out from towns just because they like killing things. It's as simple as that. They get into the breeding of the terriers and blood lines and they will boast about it."
"These people say the badger is the most formidable opponent to their dogs because they are the most vicious animals we have got. If you have a dog that can fight a badger and come away, that is seen as a game."
Although terriers and dachshunds (dachs means badger in German) are traditionally used to trap badgers, modern day offenders are also turning to bull lurchers, a cross between the lurcher and the illegal pit bull.
Earlier this month, The Express reported on the use of this new breed of dog for baiting, which prompted the launch of Operation Meles, in which Animal Welfare groups, including the RSPCA and The Badger Trust, work with police to trap and prosecute baiters.
Offenders, who have taken to hunting the badgers at night and early in the morning to avoid detection, are also using social networking sites such as Facebook, setting up groups to arrange badger baiting meets.
Often baiters are not discovered until vets report dogs with telltale injuries - their throats ripped and shredded skin hanging around their mouth.
"These dogs get appalling injuries because of how a badger fights," said Briggs. "It’s called de-gloving. If you imagine taking your chin and ripping the flesh off their jawbone, that’s what the badger does to the terrier. The dog will do what it does, keep fighting, even though half of its lower jaw might be gone."
Below is a video from the League Against Cruel Sports showing badger baiting. WARNING: This video contains shocking images of animal cruelty that may upset some viewers.