CONVICTED (2020) | so-called urban hunter Robert King, born 22 November 1986, of 66 Scotia Street, Motherwell ML1 3LD – a sadistic badger baiter and fox cub killer who forced his dogs into brutal animal fights Twisted Robert King  forced his dogs into underground tunnels to bait a nursing badger. The dogs suffered horrific facial injuries with one being so badly hurt she had to be euthanised Robert King, a self-employed landscape gardener trading under the name R&R Landscaping, had trained his three dogs to fight so aggressively that one had to be put to sleep due to the severity of her injuries. His social media accounts showed he was using his dogs to wipe out wild animals and networking with other sick so-called urban hunters to show off his grisly work. King was caught after Police Scotland raided a site near Carluke Park and Ride in South Lanarkshire and found the two severely injured Jack Russell terriers wearing tracking collars. One also had a metal face guard. This dog was so badly injured she was euthanised on humane grounds He had forced the two dogs into underground tunnels to bait a nursing badger so his larger lurcher dogs could attack it. He had developed special chin straps to protect his dogs from badgers as they attacked the setts from above ground. King’s dogs were injured after being forced into attacking a nursing badger The straps have never before been seen in Scotland but are known to have been used in Italy, where pit bulls have been forced to fight with wild pigs. In this case, the strap had failed and one of King’s dogs was so badly hurt she had to be put down, with her lower jaw ripped from her face. Spades and other specialist baiting equipment was found at the scene. There had been a significant amount of digging which is another tactic used in an attempt to unearth the badgers and provoke a fight. Police Scotland found a black lurcher type dog in King’s car. There were scars around her muzzle consistent with animal fighting injuries. The Scottish SPCA took the dog in to their care. When questioned by police, King tried to claim he was an animal lover and was rescuing a pet dog that was being attacked by a badger. The Scottish SPCA took the surviving dogs into their care. Despite the traumatic ordeal the family of badgers produced young cubs. Special cameras put in place by the Scottish SPCA spotted the two baby badgers emerge after the chaos. A Scottish SPCA SIU undercover inspector said: “It was wonderful to see the badgers had protected their cubs from what could have been a devastating incident. “Badgers are peaceful creatures and will only fight if cornered. If they have young, they will protect them to the death. “Badger mothers are vicious when they have young. Sending a dog down in to a sett with a nursing female is incredibly dangerous, not only for the badger but for the dog, as we’ve seen in this case. “This case further highlights the significance of utilising our expertise to work in collaboration with Police Scotland to bring an organised animal fighters to justice. “We are pleased that awareness of badger baiting and animal fighting among members of the public is increasing. These are abhorrent crimes and we are pleased King has been found guilty. “It’s not often that stories like this have a positive outcome but the badger cubs and their thriving family is a very happy ending.” Sentencing: seven-month tagging order; 250 hours of unpaid work. Banned from keeping animals for life. Daily Record Herald