Eight men have appeared in court in Bradford facing dozens of charges linked to alleged cockfighting and illegal animal fighting.
The case was brought by the RSPCA following an investigation which began after Northamptonshire Police encountered an animal fight in May 2024.
Bradford Magistrates Court heard that evidence in the case will include material recovered from a phone seized during the investigation.
None of the eight men entered pleas during Friday’s hearing.
Magistrates agreed with defence submissions that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the lower court and sent it to Bradford Crown Court.
Eight Men Face Multiple Charges
Those appearing were:
- Mukhtar Ahmed, 53, of Brantwood Road, Bradford, who faces three charges of being present at an animal fight in Walsall Wood.
- Daniel Burns, 49, of Kingfisher Grove, Bradford, who faces five charges including keeping premises for an animal fight and keeping animals for fighting.
- Mohammed Hussain, 49, of Royal Gardens, Bradford, who faces 17 charges including keeping premises for animal fighting, causing an animal fight to take place and keeping or training animals for fighting.
- Adnan Khan, 40, of Leylands Lane, Bradford, who faces three charges including attempting to make an animal fight take place.
- Khalid Mahmood Khan, 47, of Park View Road, who faces a charge of being present at an animal fight.
- Kabir Zaman, 36, of Girlington Road, who faces nine charges including providing information about an animal fight with intent to enable or encourage attendance.
- Muhammed Ihtishaam, 22, of Leylands Lane, who faces three charges including taking part in an animal fight and causing an animal fight to take place.
- Zafar Ali, 60, of Victoria Street, Burton upon Trent, who faces four charges including causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The allegations have not yet been proven in court.
Trial Could Last Six Weeks
Defence solicitors told magistrates that any eventual trial could last as long as six weeks.
They also argued that some of the alleged offences could attract custodial sentences of around two years.
The case was subsequently sent to Bradford Crown Court, where the defendants are due to appear on October 23.
Warrant Issued For Ninth Defendant
A ninth defendant, Muhammad Ifraz Amin, 38, of Hood Lane North, Great Sankey, Warrington, failed to appear.
A warrant was issued for his arrest.
He faces 21 charges, including multiple allegations of taking part in animal fights and causing animal fights to take place.
Another defendant, Sadir Hussain, 45, of Empress Road, Accrington, was said to be on a pre-booked holiday.
His case is expected to be heard next month.
He faces two charges, including possession of cockfighting spurs.
Cockfighting Has Deep Roots In South Asia
Cockfighting is not a new phenomenon in South Asian society.
Research traces cockfighting, pigeon flying and dogfighting back through centuries of South Asian history.
Before the mid-19th century, such activities were often associated with courts, local rulers, landed elites and some colonial officials, where they could function as displays of power, status and masculinity.
As elite tastes shifted towards sports such as cricket, tennis and hunting during the later colonial period, cockfighting and similar pursuits became more strongly associated with ordinary rural communities.
Later ethnographic work in rural Pakistan has described practices including cockfighting through the cultural idea of shauq — an enthusiasm or passion cultivated over time — and examined how participation can become tied to male social networks, status and ideas of masculine honour.
Tradition Remains In Parts Of Rural Punjab
More recent research has found cockfighting remains embedded in some rural communities in Pakistan.
A study of cockfighters in Mianwali found that participants often described the activity as something inherited from older generations and associated it with prestige, social identity and masculinity.
Researchers said the practice was commonly carried out in secluded locations.
Reporting from around Rawalpindi and Islamabad has also documented longstanding cockfighting activity in semi-urban and rural areas, including around Bhara Kahu, Bari Imam and parts of Rawalpindi.
The Wider Potohar Context
The Potohar region, which includes Rawalpindi and surrounding parts of northern Punjab, has historically retained a number of rural animal-based sporting traditions.
Cockfighting is part of that wider cultural setting, although the best-documented Potohar example in more recent reporting has often been dogfighting.
Reports have described dogfighting as an “open secret” and a popular activity in parts of Potohar despite being banned, with enthusiasts travelling from places including Kharian, Bewal, Jabbar, Mirpur and Dhadial.
That does not mean cockfighting is unique to Potohar, nor that everyone from the region participates in it. Research places cockfighting much more broadly across rural Pakistan and South Asia.
The historical link is instead that animal fighting has existed for generations within parts of rural Punjabi social life, including communities across northern and southern Punjab, before migration carried people and their cultural practices to Britain.
Bradford Case Now Moves To Crown Court
The Bradford prosecution concerns specific alleged criminal conduct in England and will be determined under British law.
The defendants have not entered pleas and no findings of guilt have been made.
The eight men who appeared on Friday are due before Bradford Crown Court on October 23.
