Dogs sniff out friend and foe

The sense most used by detection dogs is smell and they are often called a sniffer dog and, they have a new purpose in the bush.

These dogs are specifically trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones, but now, there is another use for them on the land.

The conservation dogs are using their noses to help to sniff out friend and foe in land management practices with landcare groups and landholders.

Trained sniffer dogs are being used to find the scat of native animals and feral pests to understand their diet and geographic spread within areas of East Gippsland and Queensland. The highly-trained canines are able to do it much quicker than people.

Supported by a Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery Grant, a program jointly managed by Landcare Australia, the National Landcare Network and Landcare peak bodies, the East Gippsland Landcare Network in Victoria recently used detection dogs to locate fox scat.

Following the horrific Black Summer Bushfires in 2019, areas within the district were badly burnt, leaving native animals extremely vulnerable to foxes. The local Landcare group also wanted to understand how many foxes were in the district, what they ate, and where they roamed.

Matt Stephenson, a Project Manager with the East Gippsland Landcare Network, said trained sniffer dogs brought over from Phillip Island were crucial for finding this information and did so in significantly less time than if the Network relied on the legwork of its volunteers.

“What would have taken a week and a half with three or four volunteers only took a day and a half with the dogs,” said Stephenson, when asked about the benefits of using canines for scat detection work.

The dogs had previously been used for fox control to help protect the famous Little Penguins on Phillip Island, so they knew the scent they were looking for before they arrived to work.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-01-18/12

in the 18 January 2022 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.