Detector dogs are a fast, versatile and mobile detection technology that can screen across a range of environments. They play an important role in helping to protect Australia from emerging biosecurity threats, including from plant pests and diseases.
Lyn O’Connell is a Deputy Secretary at the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, where she is responsible for biosecurity and oversees the Australian Chief Plant Protection Office. “For over 25 years, biosecurity detector dogs have actively contributed to Australia’s front-line defence against damaging biosecurity risks,” Lyn says. “From just a pair of dogs in Sydney and Brisbane, to dogs deployed across the country from Perth to Darwin, the biosecurity detector dog programme has grown considerably. Labradors now make up the entire canine workforce – their extraordinary sense of smell and their cooperative, gentle nature make them excellent detectors.”
The detector dogs are trained to identify over 200 items that pose a biosecurity risk. The most common items are seeds, meat, live plants and fruit.
“The dogs detect more than 65 000 biosecurity risk items each year, with individual dogs making more than 9 000 detections in their working life. These detections provide critical protection for our agricultural industries and the health of our communities, economy, environment and unique wildlife,” says Lyn.
A looming threat to Australia is the plant pest the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), which is spreading throughout Europe and the Americas. To assist in managing this threat, detector dogs are being trained to identify and locate it.
“We worked with researchers to identify ways to train detector dogs to recognise the odour of this exotic species,” Lyn says. “This is a challenge as there are no bugs present in Australia, so an effective substitute needed to be created to conduct training and maintain the dog’s capability.”
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
