London Dog fighting has soared in popularity as youths use powerful dogs to assert their status. The RSPCA will tell a conference today that telephone calls about dog fighting have trebled in a year. There were 358 specific calls last year, compared with 137 in 2006.

More than a third of calls were complaints about youths who forced their dogs to fight in streets and parks.

The trend is confirmed in London by the number of dogs seized by the Metropolitan Police under the Dangerous Dogs Act. On average, 38 dogs were seized every year between 2003 and 2006, but between May 2006 and April 2007 this figure grew to 173. In the past year to the end of April, it leapt to 480, of which 80 per cent were pitbull-type breeds.

Dog fighting was banned in Britain in 1835, but it has returned intermittently. RSPCA officials believe that many youths feel owning a powerful dog can boost their reputation within a gang. Some gangs use dogs instead of knives and guns to defend their territory.

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