Australia’s world-class detector dog capability will be further enhanced withdogs from the Australian Border Force, Australian Federal Police andDepartment of Agriculture and Water Resources to be co-located at a newfacility at Banksmeadow in Sydney.
The Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, officially opened the newAustralian Government Detector Dog Facility during a ceremony today.
“These remarkable animals play a significant role in protecting Australiansfrom prohibited and restricted goods including narcotics, firearms,explosives, currency and tobacco,” Mr Dutton said.
“Last year ABF Detector Dog teams made almost 2,000 detections of illicitsubstances and prohibited items across airports, seaports and postal gateways.AFP canine teams also detected hundreds of kilograms of drugs and millions ofdollars’ worth of undeclared currency at the borders and in police operationsaround Australia.
“These agencies already work closely together in both training and developmentof detector dogs and by co-locating these resources here in Sydney they willbe able to quickly deploy to Australia’s busiest airport and one of thecountry’s largest maritime ports, as well as police operations acrossAustralia.
“This is another example of the Government’s commitment to bringing togetherthe very best of Australia’s border and law enforcement agencies and fosteringcoordination and cooperation across departments and agencies.”
The Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, David Littleproud, saiddetector dogs help protect our valuable agricultural industries and uniqueenvironment.
“Last month alone, Australian biosecurity detector dog teams at the SydneyInternational Airport sniffed out over 1100 biosecurity risk items includingchicken feet, duck tongues and cooked eggs,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Any one of these items could have threatened Australia’s $63 billionagricultural industries, the environment and community health.
“Dogs are man’s best friend and detector dogs are agriculture’s best friend,protecting are valuable industries from foreign pests.”
Initially almost 50 dogs will be kenneled at the facility, with 31 staff alsoworking on site.
The new centre will complement world-class training and breeding facilitiesacross Australia, including existing joint facilities in Adelaide, Brisbaneand soon Perth and the ABF’s breeding and training facility in Melbourne.
Detector dog teams undergo rigorous training to search in a range ofchallenging environments and are routinely tasked to search luggage, mail, airand sea cargo, vessels, vehicles, aircraft, buildings and people.
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