Several years ago the German office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) contacted customs at Frankfurt with the idea of using dogs to find wildlife contraband.

"They hesitated a little bit because it was something new," said Birgit Braun, a project coordinator at WWF. "But then on the other hand they were excited and said it should be possible."

They consulted with other countries that had used dogs in similar situations. The Frankfurt zoo brought in some animals and some items that had been in the animals' proximity and the training began: the customs dogs were taught to seek out the scents of species prized by smugglers.

In 2008 the program was officially launched and since then the specially trained dogs have found smuggled animals or animal products some 250 times.

Airport staff unload the bags from the airplanes that have just landed and bring them to a special customs building on the tarmac. While the passengers are busy disembarking and making their way through the terminal to the luggage carousel, the dogs are on the job.

"[The smuggler] doesn't know that we work in here," Keller said. "When we find something, we can catch the passenger. It's very easy."

Canine talents

Dogs, it turns out, are perfect for the job.

"A dog's nose is more effective than any technical equipment they have at the airport," Braun said.

In just ten minutes they can check 350 bags. When the dog thinks there might be something inside one of them, she scratches at it.

"It's a game for the dog," said Keller, adding that the dogs like to play and like to please their handler. Only one in ten dogs has the right personality and the right aptitude for the work, he said.

German Shepherds make especially good sniffer dogs.

Smuggling a threat to endangered species

So far they've found everything from a rhinoceros horn to the eggs of rare birds from Madagascar. The WWF said that stamping out this illegal smuggling was crucial for those animals threatened with extinction.

"Illegal wildlife trade is a billion-dollar business. The dimension of illegal wildlife trade is threatening the survival of species around the world," Braun said. "So it's very important … for species conservation."

Seizures across the EU are on the rise, according to TRAFFIC, a joint organization that tracks the illegal wildlife trade.

This could indicate a growing problem, or just better detection by authorities. Either way, the effects of illegal trade on endangered populations can be devastating.

For example, the number of critically endangered Egyptian tortoises seized just in the EU between 2001 and 2005 represented about 13 percent of the total estimated wild population, according to a TRAFFIC report.

A need for cooperation

The European Commission is providing the funding for the dog sniffer program and both Keller and Braun say that the next step is to get sniffer dogs at international airports across the European Union.

Already the Czech Republic, the UK, Italy, Austria and Slovakia are using sniffer dogs to find wildlife contraband, and Hungary is set to start its program soon. The different customs agencies regularly hold meetings now to exchange ideas and share their experiences.

"If professional smugglers know that there are good control systems established at Frankfurt airport, they will easily switch to other international airports somewhere in the EU," said the WWF's Braun.

"It's really important for us that the model project from Germany and other countries will spread to other EU member states."

Fresh off their success in recruiting dogs to protect endangered species, Braun said the WWF is now looking at other ways to use that powerful dog nose.

They're currently conducting feasibility studies to see if dogs can be trained to distinguish between different types of wood and could be used to sniff out products made from threatened tree species.

Author: Holly Fox, Frankfurt
Editor: Nathan Witkop