每日跟讀#513: What makes a good sniffer dog: loves to eat, playful and curious

As the whole country gears up to prevent the African swine fever virus from entering Taiwan, sniffer dogs are playing a very important part. To make a good sniffer dog, in addition to having a powerful sense of smell, dogs that love to eat and are playful, curious and unaggressive are the top choice for dog handlers.

為防止非洲豬瘟病毒入侵，在全面提升國境防疫層級之際，檢疫犬扮演的角色吃重。要成為好的檢疫犬的條件，除了嗅覺靈敏、活動力強外，嗜吃、好玩、常保好奇心、無攻擊性，更是領犬員心目中的首選。

With their keen sense of smell, sniffer dogs can detect up to a dozen kinds of animal products and more than 80 kinds of plant products, with an average accuracy rate of over 80 percent, making them the most helpful assistants for border inspection personnel.

檢疫犬藉由靈敏的嗅覺，可以偵測標的物可達十多種動物產品及八十多種植物產品，平均偵測正確率為八成以上，是國境防檢人員最有力的助手。

An inspector says that when a sniffer dog finds hidden meat, fruit or seeds on the baggage carousel, it stops by the baggage and waits for the inspectors to open it for inspection.

防檢人員表示，檢疫犬若在行李轉盤發現暗藏肉品、水果、種子時，會停在行李原地，等待防檢人員進一步開箱查驗。

Hsiao Shu-chiung, a technical specialist with the Council of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, says that Taoyuan International Airport is in effect the country’s front door, so its sniffer dogs bear a heavier responsibility than those of other border control units. Sniffer dogs’ training is aimed at identifying fresh fruit, vegetables, seeds, meat and live animals, in order to effectively intercept potential epidemics such as bird flu, foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever.

農委會動植物防疫檢疫局技正蕭淑瓊說，桃園機場屬於國家大門，檢疫犬每天執勤的責任比其他國境單位來得吃重，而檢疫犬平日訓練，則針對如何辨識鮮果、蔬菜、種子、肉類與動物活體，以有效攔截禽流感、口蹄疫、非洲豬瘟等不同疫情。

There are currently 47 sniffer dogs in Taiwan, including 29 beagles, 10 Labradors and eight mixed-breed dogs, which carry out their duties at airports, sea ports and international parcel centers all over the country. Taoyuan International Airport has the most sniffer dogs — 25 in all. Even the Shuitou Pier in Kinmen County, a port for the “small three links” with China, has three sniffer dogs.

台灣現有四十七隻檢疫犬，犬種包含二十九隻米格魯、十隻拉布拉多、八隻米克斯混種，分工在全國機場、港口、國際郵包中心執勤，數量最多的是桃園機場，分派二十五隻執勤，就連金門縣小三通的水頭碼頭也有三隻。

A sniffer dog’s training is carried out in tandem with that of the dog handler. They are trained separately for the first one or two months. The dog must learn to sniff and obey commands, while the dog handler learns to guide the dog to do its duties in the form of a game, as well as how to take care of the dog’s health. In the following 10 to 12 weeks, the dog and its handler are trained together and learn on the spot. In most cases, a sniffer dog starts working at two years old and serves for four to seven years.

檢疫犬的培訓是與領犬員同步進行，剛開始的一到二個月分別受訓，狗狗要學會聞、聽從命令等；領犬員要會引領狗狗樂於在遊戲中執勤、照顧其健康起居；再十到十二週一起受訓，並現場學習。檢疫犬通常是自兩歲起，服務四到七年。

Most of the sniffer dogs are beagles. The beagles are bred by the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, while the Labradors are bred by the Customs Administration. Mixed-breed dogs in shelters may also be chosen, as well as dogs donated by the public.

檢疫犬的犬種以米格魯較多，米格魯由屏東科技大學、拉布拉多由海關育種，也會從收容中心尋找米克斯，或由民眾捐贈。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/01/02/2003707168

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