more than 600 of the canines cannot be tracked down.

Latest estimates suggest that Bermuda has more than 800 pitbulls, several of which are bred specifically for cruel fighting matches.

Official figures show there are only 201 licensed pitbulls on the Island -- and dog wardens believe another 600 are deliberately unregistered.

Now the wardens are investigating the latest craze among pitbull owners...gang dog fights.

The Royal Gazette revealed that unscrupulous owners were building their dogs up for illegal fights all over Bermuda earlier this month.

Police are already investigating a series of tip-offs that the fights take place between dusk and dawn in notorious neighbourhoods.

It is believed hundreds of dollars can change hands between gambling owners, who fix up fights in enclosed clearings away from main roads.

And a series of prime locations where dog fighting is known to take place have been leaked to The Royal Gazette .

They are: The rubber tree in Warwick, near PHC Stadium, particularly after night football matches; Lagoon Park, off Cochrane Road outside Dockyard, where fights are arranged early in the morning or late in the evening; Admiralty Park and 42nd Street, off Marsh Folly Road, both in Pembroke; Abbot's Cliff Road, off North Shore, Hamilton Parish; Devil's Hole, Smith's and the old Club Med site in St. George's, where fights have been arranged at night.

One man, from Cochrane Road, Sandys, said fights were arranged in nearby Lagoon Park "several times a week''.

"It's a nasty business,'' he said. "You can hear the yelping early in the morning or late in the evening. Basically, whenever it's just about to get dark or just about to get light.'' He said the area had been prowled by wild cats up until Easter but they had now "mysteriously disappeared''.

Suspicions were also raised at a top Bermuda pet store when one pitbull owner asked for a chemical food additive which reduced the potential for breeding -- but also slowed down blood flow.

Assistant dog warden Jeffrey Benevides added: "The latest craze in Bermuda seems to be gang dog fights, packs of dogs against other packs.

"We know that these fights happen and we are doing our best to stamp it out.

"But we have been trying for almost a year to catch somebody in the act and still not managed it. There's a certain type of people who do this sort of thing and the fights are always broken up by the time we get there.

"Every day I come across five or ten people who haven't registered their pitbulls.

"We only have 201 registered but there are at least three times that number unregistered or registered as cross-breeds in a bid to disguise the fact that they're pitbulls.

"It is not illegal to own a pitbull in Bermuda or bring one in. It is illegal not to register it.'' New Environment Minister Harry Soares, who was off the Island last night, vowed to review the dangerous dog laws amid recent allegations about the bloodthirsty brawls.

The promise came days after a 29-year-old man was bitten by a pitbull in Court Street, Hamilton, which followed several recent attacks by pitbulls and other dogs.

It is understood detectives are also delving into one complaint that a man was seen making his dog tread water in the sea, to build up its strength.