“I love Moti just like my kids. He’s a source of pride,” crowed a jubilant Malik Tassaduq Hussain after his dog won a fight in Tangdhe Sayedan, a village in Punjab province, 110 kilometres (70 miles) east of Islamabad.
The rules are brutally simple: the dogs fight until one bleeds to death, runs off, or until the owner takes pity and withdraws the animal from battle, handing the opponent victory.
Winning owners can get small prizes such as trophies, cell phones, or televisions while some organizers give prize money ranging from 5,000 rupees ($55) to 100,000 rupees, depending on what the organizers can afford.
“We organise these festivals because we love dog fights. Every organiser chooses his own or associates’ land in the village to stage these fights. It’s a hobby of the powerful,” said Abdul Ghaffar, a local organiser.
Zulfiqar Otho, a vet who volunteers for the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society, told AFP that owners of losing dogs sometimes shoot them after fights and that on average, one dog dies per festival.
“They are rich businessmen, feudal lords, members of the parliament and other bigwigs of society. They influence police through their stature and money… Police can’t move against the will of these people,” he told AFP.
But the fans are unperturbed.
“God created dogs to fight and bite,” said farmer Chaudhry Javed. “Even if we don’t arrange this, they’ll fight each other,” he added