Man’s Best Friend Takes a Bite Out of Poaching!

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/ivorydogs/?


Poaching and trophy hunting have been all over the news cycle lately, and for good reason. It seems like there is a new, obscene story about poaching or hunting every week, including the constant decline in the populations of endangered species. Conservation efforts have been trying to protect animals like rhinos and elephants for decades, but to little success. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and there are always new and improved ways to curtail poaching. The latest secret weapon against poachers? Dogs.

Dogs are used to sniff out drugs, explosives, and people, and they have been for years. Now it’s time to add a new item to that list: ivory.

With 60% of Tanzania’s elephants being killed by poachers over the last 5 years, and populations across Africa quickly dwindling, the African nations of Tanzania and Kenya are working to train dogs to sniff out animal parts, primarily ivory, in order to effectively catch poachers. Currently, smuggling is fairly easy. It is a low-risk high-reward business (prices have tripled over the last 5 years), and effectively catching poachers has become more and more difficult. Enter the dogs.



FULL story at link.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. good dog