Anthony Holloway, 30, who is a convicted badger baiter, sends others in the ring sick ‘match reports’ of cruel battles between dogs.
Anthony Holloway posing with fighting dog inside the Dumbarton compound.
A notorious urban hunter can today be revealed as a key player in Scotland’s horrific dog fighting underworld – even sending out sick match reports on the bloody bouts.
Sadistic Anthony Holloway, 30, trained his own string of fighting dogs in steel cages at a compound near his home in Dumbarton. A Daily Record investigation has uncovered Holloway’s sick pastime, which is laid bare in one “match report” written after he sent his own American pit bull in against a rival from a different stable.
Holloway trained pit bulls and other dogs in his “Roc Red” stable to be killers, setting them on badgers and foxes to sharpen up their bloodlust.
One source, who was sent the photos and “match report” that Holloway circulated, 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 added: “The dog fighting community is notoriously tight-knit and highly paranoid about getting caught, so this leaked photograph and match report will be a major concern to anyone involved in dog fighting in Scotland and the UK.”
Our investigation reveals that Holloway used a full complement of fighting dog training methods. He has used canine treadmills to increase stamina and “break sticks” to prise open dogs’ mouths if they are locked into a rival’s neck.
Holloway, who was last year banned from keeping dogs, posed 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 its 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 smashed-up animals to vets could lead to them being jailed.
Some of Holloway’s dogs have been forced to take part in multiple bloody fights for the pleasure of other depraved brutes in Scotland and elsewhere. The Record has 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.
We also observed him inside the compound last week 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.
The Record revealed last June how Holloway was given a lenient four-year ban on keeping animals after being found guilty of using dogs to hunt foxes and badgers in woodland near his home. Holloway escaped with just a 270-hour community payback order at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on top of the ownership restriction despite prosecutors seeking a life ban.
He is believed to have been responsible for the death and serious disfigurement of many dogs, either through forcing them to fight badgers or other fighting dogs. Images seized from his phone revealed animals being torn to pieces. The barbaric yob has also used lamps and spades to dig out badger setts and trap the terrified animals before dogs were set on them.
The sadist was caught after an intelligence operation by the Scottish SPCA ’s Special Investigation Unit stopped him and an associate at Cairnryan ferry port near Stranraer in October 2019 after a badger baiting trip. They had Patterdale terriers with them – Honey, Dodger and Floss and a Lakeland terrier type dog called Red.
All dogs were found with scars and one with fresh wounds consistent with animal fighting. In 2015, Holloway was given 150 hours of community service for reset of £1800 of stolen goods. A year later he was convicted of hitting a man over the head with a weapon, to his severe injury.
Stills from video show the injured faces of dogs belonging to badger baiter and urban hunter Anthony Holloway
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. Ourinvestigation 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.”
Brute Holloway at court last year after he was banned from keeping dogs
