Sniffer dogs new weapon in kauri fight
The world’s first dogs trained to sniff out kauri dieback have joined Auckland Council’s biosecurity team, marking a significant step forward in the battle against the fatal disease.
Four-year old English springer spaniel Pip and 5-year-old jagdterrier Mawhai are being phased into operation, which will begin with the testing of soil samples from possibly infected kauri trees.
Yesterday, a select few people – including Auckland mayor Phil Goff – were invited to watch the dogs in action at the remote training facility in Huia.
Goff was impressed by programme and described the day as a ‘‘special occasion’’.
‘‘These dogs are really important to us. They’ll be able to help us further protect islands in the Hauraki Gulf, like Waiheke, which is still free from kauri dieback disease,’’ he said.
During the event Pip and Mawhai tackled two courses, sniffing out kauri dieback samples from soils and a pair of rubber gloves.
Since February last year, the council has spent just shy of $50,000 training the two dogs and their handlers to detect the disease in a range of materials, including tree roots.
‘‘It was a challenging assignment for the dogs and for us as trainers,’’ lead handler Brian Shields said.
‘‘Dogs are commonly used throughout New Zealand to detect invasive animals and plants. Training them to detect a pathogen can at times be a difficult task when it is not visible to the naked eye. Keeping them focused and noses to the task was no easy feat.’’
The next stage, to gain their ‘‘Masters’’, will see the diseasefighting hounds tested on their sensitivity to kauri dieback using odour recognition tests.