On a recent visit to the United States of America, the Southern African Wildlife College CEO, Theresa Sowry was able to see first-hand the progress being made in training the free-running pack dogs that will be joining the College's K9 unit.
"These are our girls in action - just look at them," said a proud Sowry.
The dogs are in the final stages of their preparatory training programme and “we’re looking at a couple more weeks of work to get them ready for dispatch to South Africa,” she noted.
The animals are mixed-breed dogs, with one bloodhound hand-picked by renowned houndsman Joe Braman for her extraordinary nose.
The College has proven that free-running pack dogs work in the field. Fitted with GPS collars they can follow poachers quickly and accurately apprehend them until the helicopters and law enforcement teams arrive at the scene to make arrests.
Ivan Carter was instrumental in introducing Texan houndsman Joe Braman to the SAWC. "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.
The SAWC's current pack dogs have already played valuable roles in a number of recent tracking operations leading to the successful apprehension of poachers in the Kruger National Park.
"These dogs have been bred for nearly a century in the United States to track humans for law enforcement purposes. I've got no doubt in my mind that once these new packs arrive in South Africa, apprehension rates will increase even more. They're a formidable part of any anti-poaching team," said Braman.
"There is increasing demand for well-trained dogs and handlers to help combat wildlife crime, and we have really high hopes for these amazing dogs," noted Sowry, thanking Carter and Braman for their generous support.
For more information on the Southern African Wildlife College, visit our website.
