JOIN USHighly-trained sniffer dogs to join Maharashtra, Karnataka forest departments
Highly-trained super sniffer dogs and their handlers — who repeatedly proved their merit in India's fight against wildlife crime — will join various states including Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The dogs were taught to detect tiger and leopard skin, elephant tusk, skin, and antlers of spotted deer and sambar at the training institute.
The dog handlers also learned how to train their dogs to identify other scents, allowing them to develop skills after the course ended.
The latest unit of wildlife sniffer dogs passed out from the Basic Training Centre Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (BTC-ITBP) camp in Panchkula, Haryana, and is the ninth batch to be trained since the launch of TRAFFIC and WWF India's wildlife sniffer dog training programme in 2008. To date, 88 wildlife sniffer dog squads have been trained.
On November 20, 14 young dogs and their 28 handlers completed a seven-month-long training course to join India's growing wildlife sniffer dog force. During their time at the BTC-ITBP camp, activities included rugged terrain training in forests, check posts, luggage search, parking lots, and vehicles. The trainers used small-sized wildlife articles to accustom the dogs to find targets with low scent concentration in these complex environments.
Three Super Sniffer squads will join the forest department of Maharashtra; two will join the Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Odisha Forest Departments, and one will join Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
Two dog squads will be deployed by the Southern and West Central regions of Indian Railways under TRAFFIC's newly formed alliance with the Railway Protection Force (RPF). Last year, RPF deployed two specialised wildlife sniffer dog squads for the first time in India to curb the smuggling of wildlife contraband through the extensive railway network.
In a press statement, Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF India, said: "Starting with just two wildlife sniffer dogs in 2008, today that number has grown to 88. The dedication and commitment of the wildlife sniffer dog squads are admirable, and the dogs have been a game-changer in the efforts against wildlife crime. We wish the best of success to the 14 newly trained wildlife sniffer dog squads in their mission to curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade.”
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