CONVICTED (2010) | David Brinley Braddon (also known as Dai Brad), born 01/05/1963, of 11 Glyn Llwyfen, Llanbradach, Caerphilly CF83 3PL – owned five banned pit bull terrier dogs and was involved in dog fighting

After a three-day trial in June 2010, father-of-five David Brinley Braddon was found guilty of keeping or training a dog for use in connection of animal fighting, guilty of having articles for use in connection of animal fighting and guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog.

Braddon, who operates a tattoo studio in Bargoed, Wales called Skin FX and fronts a white supremacist band, also admitted five charges of possessing a banned breed.

On 17 March 2009, officers from the RSPCA special operations unit joined South Wales Police to execute a search warrant at Braddon’s home. A search of the property revealed five pit bull terrier type dogs, four of them being kept in an elaborate kennel set-up in a garage at the rear of the property.

A motorised and a manual treadmill with attachments for dog collars, which are commonly used to train animals before a fight were also discovered.

Braddon’s refrigerator contained a bottle of the penicillin Duphacillin, an animal antibiotic normally only dispensed by a vet. They also discovered a set of weighing scales for use when the dogs were being weighed in before fights and various books on pit bulls and dog fighting including a manual entitled Dogs of Velvet and Steel which was known as the “dog fighter’s bible”.

One of the dogs found at Braddon’s home during the search was known as Otis (pictured). The animal fitted the name, description and photographs of a dog listed in many magazines and fight reports seized by the RSPCA during its investigations into organised dog fighting. Otis featured as having won two fights which was recorded in the Pit Bull Year Book 2008. That dog had 42 separate scars and another dog had 21 scars.

RSPCA chief inspector Mike Butcher said: “It is a major breakthrough for us to successfully prosecute someone like David Braddon.

“He is a major figure among the British dog fighting community, making it all the more pleasing to see him brought to justice.

“Despite this horrific so-called ‘sport’ being banned as long ago as 1835, there remains a network of organised dog fighters still operating across Britain.

“These people are responsible for some of the most deliberate and barbaric acts of animal cruelty the society investigates.

“It remains a constant battle to find these elusive characters and bring them to justice, but the RSPCA remains entirely committed to doing just that.”

Braddon has five children: Emma (born 1984), Amy (born 1986), David James (born 1988), Nikki (born 1990) and Megan Rhian (born 2002).  In 2015 son David James Braddon was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. His partner is Melony McElroy who goes by the name Kim Jones.

Sentencing: jailed for six months, later reduced to 16 weeks on appeal; £1,000 costs.  Disqualified from keeping animals for 15 years (expires July 2025). All five banned breed dogs were ordered to be destroyed

BBC News
Vet Times