In a bid to enhance border security, Tasmania is set to welcome a team of 14 new detector dogs as part of the recently launched Detector Dog Unit Improvement Plan.
The first batch of dogs has completed its training at Launceston Airport, marking the beginning of an important milestone in protecting the state’s borders.
By the end of the year, ten new dogs will be deployed, with an additional four joining the team in the following year.
These highly trained canines will be tasked with sniffing out items that could potentially bring pests or diseases into Tasmania – from fruit and vegetables to plant materials, honeycomb, honey, eggs, meat and various seafood products.
Acting General Manager for Biosecurity Tasmania, Ryan Wilkinson, said with the increasing domestic threats, biosecurity threats and also international threats like foot and mouth disease, the dogs will play an absolutely crucial role in protecting Tasmania’s borders.
“As part of the training we’ve recently rolled out we’ve learnt about the moderns of imprinting techniques so overtime we will introduce new odours to those dogs and expand their range of detection capabilities,” Mr Wilkinson said.
“These dogs don’t only operate in an airport environment but also operate in mail centres and freight centres and we will be rolling them out with the Spirit of Tasmania arrivals as well.”
