Who let the dogs out? China’s sniffer dogs take up duty

Put through its paces: one of the labradors being trained to detect wildlife contraband in China (photo credit:TRAFFIC)

China’s first three sniffer dogs have gone on duty after successfully completing their training. The first three dogs and their trainers passed out of the training centre in Ruili at the end of July. They are expected to take up duty in airports and border crossings in Yunnan Province.

All three dogs are labradors and have  been trained by the Anti-smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs of China at their sniffer dog training centre. It took between 5 and 6 months to train the dogs – the first wildlife sniffer dogs in China - and all three passed their final tests.

In order to become ready for duty the dogs had to successfully sniff out a range of wildlife products in a variety of situations. The dogs can recognise and find products such as tiger bones, rhino horns, pangolin scales and turtles.

Test locations included finding the products in shipping containers, post handling centres and also luggage on an airport conveyor belt. The dogs were trained with the help and support of TRAFFIC following a conference in Beijing when dog training experts from across the world met up.

“TRAFFIC is very impressed to see the dogs have completed their training successfully and are ready for action,” said Dr Jianbin Shi, Head of TRAFFIC’s China Programme, which provided partial support to the training project.

“The deterrent effect of having trained detector dogs on patrol should not be underestimated—wildlife smugglers will be aware the dice are now heavily loaded in favour of them being caught.”

Jun Tan, Head of the Detector Dog Programme at the Anti-Smuggling Bureau, GACC, explained, “The use of detector dogs is a new approach in China to detect wildlife contraband and will increase our work efficiency on the front line,”

“Building on the success of this pilot project, we are willing to collaborate further with TRAFFIC to share the training knowledge and experiences with other enforcement agencies, including our counterparts in neighbouring countries, given that the Ruili base also serves as the WCO (World Customs Organization) Regional Dog Training Centre,” said Tan.

Even before the dogs took up duty they were raising the interest of other departments in China and law enforcement agencies across the region.

“TRAFFIC is pleased to see that this training project has aroused interest from other enforcement agencies such as China’s Forest Police and those beyond China’s borders,” said Dr Shi.

“TRAFFIC believes the success of this training project will mark the beginnings of using detector dogs as a cornerstone for improving wildlife enforcement capacity in China and beyond.”