Four Finnish men are to be charged with organising illegal dogfights in Southern Finland, the Nelonen (Channel Four Finland) newsdesk reported on Monday.
The case will be handled by the Forssa District Court at the beginning of next year.
Initially Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) suspected six people of a violation of animal protection laws.
The investigations in Finland began after the British Broadcasting Corporation contacted the NBI. While looking into dogfights in Britain, the BBC had uncovered links to Finland, including the illegal export of dogs.
The charges apply to one specific dogfight shown in the Panorama documentary broadcast by the BBC.
The programme was also simultaneously televised by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE, and prompted much heated debate on the issue of fighting dogs and dog fighting.
