When Joe Braman met SANPark's Section Ranger Richard Sowry via a mutual friend and houndsman Wade Ruddock, Braman had no idea he’d soon be spending a month at the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC) in the Greater Kruger National Park helping to take the K9 programme to the next level.
"When I found out what's really going on in South Africa- how serious the rhino poaching crisis is, I immediately decided to help."said Braman
Currently, the dogs are trained to track poachers with their handlers. The programme has been getting good results and garnering both local and international attention, but "we knew if we could get the dogs to track freely as a pack, and then to apprehend the poachers, they would be even more successful," says Johan Van Straaten, the programme's Dog Master. In packs, dogs fitted with GPS collars would be able to find the suspects faster, and hold them at bay until the helicopters and law enforcement teams arrive at the scene to make arrests.
The dogs currently being trained are good for tracking, but for free running pack hunting to be successful, Braman determined the need for other genetics better geared toward apprehending poachers.
The new dogs will be a cross between Black and Tan and Redbone breeds. These dogs have been bred for nearly a century in the United States to track humans for law enforcement purposes. Twenty three of these puppies were born recently, and Braman plans to bring them to South Africa as soon as possible. Once these packs are introduced to the anti-poaching arsenal, Braman anticipates the pack will increase the apprehension rate to between 50-60%.
"Running a pack is like coaching a football team, "says Braman. "After 35 years of dog handling experience I know how to coach a team."
Van Straaten is thrilled to have Braman come on board in such a big way. "Using packs that are able to successfully apprehend poachers on their own is going to be a game changer. "
