Baiting the trap - Tony Saunders

'Usually, where animals are mistreated, it's by people who don't know much better. Though few in number, uniformed RSPCA inspectors are very good at dealing with that side of things. But there is another kind of cruelty to animals, the kind that brings delight and satisfaction to its depraved enthusiasts. It is widespread, often highly organised, deeply secretive and just about impossible to detect it in the normal way.'
If you picture an RSPCA officer out on official duty in his little van and uniform, think again. Here is the secret, unknown world of the secret operations undertaken by one man, whose job it is to go up against the big time crooks and often violent dealers in the criminal fraternity who abuse animals to line their back pockets, or worse, just for kicks. Tony Saunders is more likely to be found posing as a dodgy dealer in rare animals in the back streets of Cairo or covered in mud and debris after a night spent observing illegal badger digs in the British countryside than in an office. He has trained with, amongst others, the SAS, and has come to see the nastiest side of human nature, counterpointed by his very real, but unsentimental love of animals. This book is a non-fiction thriller, following Tony as he creates his own role within the RSPCA, and becomes increasingly embroiled in the criminal underworld that preys on animals, both in the UK and abroad.