Tracker dogs trained by Denel are having increasing success in curbing the smuggling of rhino horn and ivory in the Kruger National Park.
Six tracker dog teams consisting of dogs and their handlers have been deployed in the Park since last September in terms of an agreement between Denel Mechem and South African National Parks.
Ten more dogs will soon see action at gates and entrances to the Park to detect hidden firearms and ammunition or smuggled contraband.
Mechem’s Dr Hannes Slabbert says well-trained dog and handler teams remain among the most effective solutions to track and apprehend poachers in a vast terrain such as KNP.
“The number of rhinos killed for their horns would have been much higher if not for the actions of our canine units,” he says.
The dogs’ special abilities are increasingly also being used to protect South Africa’s wildlife resources from poachers and smugglers.
Slabbert says the tracker dogs used in the KNP can detect the scent of a smuggler up to six hours after an incident occurred and follow it over vast distances. Once an operation starts fresh dogs are often flown in by helicopter to continue following the spoors.
It takes up to 12 weeks to train a dog together with its handler. Some of the most successful canine sleuths come from Mechem’s own dog breeding programme. Approximately 200 dogs are trained by the Mechem team each year.
Slabbert says the escalating global concerns about border security and aviation safety are contributing to a growth in demand for South African-trained dogs.
Mechem is negotiating contracts to train dogs and handlers for custom services in Senegal and canines used by the Ivory Coast defence force.
Mechem has developed a unique system which combines modern technology with the dogs’ capabilities to search for and uncover a wide range of substances. The Mechem Explosives and Drug Detection System - MEDDS - involves collecting air samples from suspect vehicles and containers and taking them to the dogs in a controlled environment. When the dogs confirm the suspicions investigators take further steps to inspect the cargo.
Did you know?
* Denel-trained dogs can be trained to literally sniff out anything – for example, they are being used by South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services to find hidden and illicit cellphones being used by prison inmates.
* Denel-trained dogs have also been used to help the manufacturers of Zambuk, a well-known lip balm, to sniff out “fake” Zambuk - cracking down on illicit trade and protecting the integrity of the lip-balm manufacturer’s brand.
* Sniffer dogs trained by Denel play a crucial role in air safety – they inspect all air cargo leaving South Africa from OR Tambo and Cape Town international airport.
Understanding Denel
Denel SOC Ltd is a state-owned commercially-driven company and strategic partner for innovative defence, security, aerospace and related technology solutions. It groups together several defence and aerospace divisions and associated companies.
Denel provides turnkey solutions of defence equipment to its clients by designing, developing, integrating and supporting artillery, munitions, missiles, Aerostructures, aircraft maintenance, unmanned aerial vehicle systems and optical payloads based on high-end technology.
Its defence capabilities date back more than 70 years when some of Denel’s first manufacturing plants were established.
Denel’s purpose is to:
* Supply South Africa’s defence and security environment with strategic technology capability, products, services and support;
* Leverage indigenous capability to access selected export markets;
* Contribute to the socio-economic imperatives of Government such as:
* Job creation, skills development and social investment;
* Enhancing the local technology and manufacturing base;
* Supplier development;
* Exploiting commercial use of technology; and
* Foreign policy and regional security objectives.