CONVICTED (2021) | bloodsports maniac and dog-fighting kingpin* Anthony Holloway, born 1 October 1992, of 17 Cumbrae Crescent South, Dumbarton G82 5AW – forced his dogs to fight and took selfies with the corpses of dead animals; exposed as major player in organised dog-fights.

Anthony Holloway walked free from court with a community payback order and a four-year-ban on keeping dogs despite being convicted of a litany of sadistic animal cruelty.

He was caught in October 2019 after officers from the ­Scottish SPCA’s Special ­Investigation Unit stopped him and an associate at Cairnryan ferry port after a badger baiting trip.

The pair had three Patterdale terriers – Honey, Dodger and Floss, and a Lakeland terrier-type dog called Red with them.

All dogs were found with scars and one had fresh wounds consistent with animal fighting. The dogs were seized by the Scottish SPCA.

Items of clothing, some stained with blood, were removed from the scene and were later identified as belonging to Holloway from images gathered as evidence.

A full veterinary examination of the dogs showed scarring around the face, head and jaw. The vet determined that all of the dogs had injuries consistent with being used repeatedly to fight animals, predominantly badgers.

The court saw a series of film and stills taken from Holloway’s phone that showed him digging out badger setts and holding up a dead fox, which had its jaw ripped off. One still showed a young boy in glasses, grinning as he held a large dead fox.

The court heard Holloway had fabricated an artificial badger sett to allow pups to practise killing animals.

The court also heard that Holloway was strongly suspected of being involved in dog fighting, after his mobile phone showed he had texted an associate about a fight. It is believed he took his own dogs to Ireland to take part in fights organised by criminal gangs.

Holloway claimed his regular job is pest control, sometimes killing foxes and badgers with his specially-trained dogs. But Joe Stewart, prosecuting, said that was nonsense, as killing animals with dogs is illegal in Scotland.

Mr Stewart said: “There were messages sent to an associate that refer to Holloway fighting dogs with another domestic dog. It is certainly the Crown’s position that the offences were not connected with vermin control.

“I cannot accept that this is legal work. There is no legal way to use dogs to kill other animals. You require a licence to legally kill badgers and this must be done humanely and with a firerarm. The videos and photographs make it crystal clear that the killing of these animals was gratuitous and it was done for fun.

“There are pictures of the accused and his friends digging out badgers and foxes and the purpose was not pest control. It was a blood sport.

“That could be the only motivation for fighting two domestic dogs.”

Holloway was found guilty of training his dogs for the purpose of animal fighting and also convicted of supplying videos of animal fighting.

A Scottish SPCA special ­investigations unit inspector said: “While we view every prosecution as a success, we are disappointed with the sentence Holloway received.

“He showed a complete lack of regard for their welfare. Badgers can be lethal and we have had to put animals to sleep in the past due to the injuries they sustained during a fight with a badger.

“It’s difficult to say how many animals suffered at the hands of Holloway. It won’t just be the wild animals involved in fighting but his own dogs too. He showed a complete lack of regard for their welfare.

“We had asked for Holloway to receive a lifetime disqualification on owning or keeping dogs so we are frustrated with the four-year ban. This does not reflect the level of cruelty Holloway allowed to be inflicted on wildlife and his own dogs.

“We were hopeful that the overhaul of animal welfare legislation, where maximum sentencing was increased, would be utilised by the court and act as a deterrent for anyone else considering undertaking such abhorrent crimes.”

Prior to sentence, Sheriff Gallacher had warned Holloway he could face jail. He told him: “What we have seen is barbarity. It’s the sport of doing it, the pleasure of seeing an animal attacking another animal.

“Holding a dead fox in your hand is nothing to do with managing vermin – it’s sport.”

Despite this, the sheriff opted against a lifetime ban after defence lawyer Judith Reid said that would have a serious effect on Holloway’s income. Holloway appeared to expect a jail sentence and had brought a large black bag to court.

Sentencing: 270-hour community payback order. Banned from owning dogs for just four years (expires June 2025).

Dumbarton Reporter
Mirror
Daily Record
Daily Star

---

Additional information

In 2015, Holloway was given 150 hours of community service for reset of £1800 of stolen goods.

A year later he was jailed for hitting a man over the head with a weapon, to his severe injury.

---

*Update October 2022

Scottish newspaper the Daily Record exposed Holloway as a key player in the twisted world of dog-fighting.

A source told a Record reporter that Holloway trained his fighting dogs at his “Roc Red” stable to kill, pitting them against badgers and foxes to prepare.

They said: “People like Holloway cannot stop themselves from showing off, which often involves trophy photos of their dogs ripping foxes and badgers apart. But he has gone further than most and has faced off his animals against other dogs at ultra-secret fight meets in the UK and Ireland.

“He has been over to Ireland many times and there is a far more established dog fighting community over there. He is also connected to some of the most notorious dog fighters in England.

“They all have stable names and the communications are quite sophisticated, mostly on secure or encrypted sites like WhatsApp and Telegram. It is normal for match reports to be written up, just like reports from boxing matches, only the loser often ends up dead.”

The source says the tight-knit dog fighting community is paranoid about getting caught.

They added: “This leaked photograph and match report will be a major concern to anyone involved in dog fighting in Scotland and the UK.”

The Record investigation revealed that Holloway used a full complement of fighting dog training methods. These include canine treadmills to increase stamina and “break sticks” to prise open dogs’ mouths if they are locked into a rival’s neck.

One leaked image showed Holloway posing at his ramshackle compound with a American pit bull called Roc Red’s Widow. The photo was marked 2XW – meaning the dog had won two fights previously.

The dog also has a blue anaesthetic liquid on her face after suffering serious facial cuts in a fight. The anaesthetics are shared among the fighting circle, with the trainers carrying out their own crude attempts at patching up dogs after fights. Taking animals with fighting injuries to vets could arouse suspicion.

The Record wrote that some of Holloway’s dogs had been forced to take part in multiple bloody fights for the pleasure of other depraved brutes in Scotland and elsewhere.

The Record obtained images taken from inside the grim lair operated by Holloway and his accomplices, where innocent dogs have been reared from pups and trained to rip others apart.

Reporters also observed him inside the compound during October 2022 tending to dogs despite being banned by a Scottish court for a horrendous series of animal cruelty offences.

Dogs are kept in steel cages in the compound, which is only accessible via a locked door. According to the “match report” obtained by the Record, Holloway’s dog, Roc Red’s Gypsy, won a battle against a 36lb buckskin bull terrier.

The rival was bred by a stable called Still Game after the Scottish comedy show. The report tells how Gypsy ripped the throat of his rival, Still Game’s Chloe, and grips her brutally in his teeth for five minutes before the rival trainer – also believed to be Scottish – throws the towel in.

The report states: “The damage to Chloe’s chest is clear and with his bitch fading fast, Chloe’s handler rightly picks up, giving Roc Red and Gypsy a well deserved win in 27 mins.”

It is not known if Chloe survived.

A spokesperson for the Scottish SPCA, which brought the badger baiting case against Holloway after a rigorous investigation, said he is known to be one of the most persistent menaces to animals in Scotland.

The spokesperson said: “Anthony Holloway has previously been involved with animal fighting, and last year was handed a four-year ban on owning or keeping dogs as well as a 270-hour community payback order. Our investigation left us with no doubt that Holloway is a significant member of organised dog fighting and badger baiting in Scotland and throughout the UK.

“We would welcome any information on any persons in Scotland known to be involved in animal fighting. All calls made to our animal helpline on 03000 999 999 are confidential.”

The Daily Record spotted Holloway inside the compound and we later tried to speak to him at his home in Dumbarton about his activities.
There was no response when the Record tried to speak to him.

North West Hunt Saboteurs
Glasgow Live
Daily Record

---

On 1 November 2022 the Daily Record published a follow-up article on Holloway, which revealed that he is also a member of an animal killing ring that includes some of the most vicious abusers in the UK.

Sadistic Holloway shared grisly photos and videos of animal mutilation with Rhys Davies, a former gamekeeper at the Millden Estate in Angus. Davies is currently serving an eight-month jail sentence for badger baiting – the longest in Scottish legal history.

Holloway and Davies exchanged messages relating to badger baiting and the covert world of dog fighting.

Both men were given bans on keeping animals after major investigations by the SSPCA’s Special Investigations Unit.

One senior inspector for the unit said: “During our investigations we were able to establish that Anthony Holloway and Rhys Davies were prolific in their animal fighting activities throughout the UK. In August this year, Davies was sentenced to eight months in prison and a 15-year ban on owning or keeping animals.

“Holloway has previously been involved with animal fighting, and last year was handed a four-year ban on owning or keeping dogs as well as a 270 hour community payback order.

“Our investigation left us with no doubt that Holloway is a significant member of organised dog fighting and badger baiting in Scotland and throughout the UK. These cases involved some of the most serious cruelty our special investigations unit has ever dealt with.”

During the court proceedings against Rhys Davies, a detailed narrative was prepared for the court by the SSPCA.

The narrative states: “Davies is clearly in communication with an individual who is well practised in fighting his dogs with badgers. The reporting officer has identified this individual as Anthony Holloway from photographs that he sent of himself to Davies.

“He has sent him two clear videos of his dogs pulling badgers from their setts. They are exchanging information regarding dog breeds and talking about what dogs are best for killing what animals, be it badger or fox. There are other, numerous conversations with this individual.”

Sentencing Davies in August 2022, Sheriff Derek Reekie told him: “It is deeply disturbing, the horrific, cruel and senseless nature of the crime, as well as the cruelty to your own dogs. Your text messages demonstrate your sickening enjoyment in what you were doing.”

Officers also discovered damning conversations with a man named as “T” – another sadist, Liam Taylor from Macduff, Aberdeenshire, who was convicted of similar offences in November 2021.

Daily Record