Five Belgian shepherds in the battle against poisoned baits

The last training of the five Belgian Shepherds, who will take action as integral members of the “Special Poison Bait Detection Units”, has been completed. The shepherds, who are considered the best breed of their kind as they combine endurance, speed, intelligence, excellent sense of smell and hearing, were born last May in Huelma, Spain where they were intensively trained in a specialized center of the country, with their training completed in Larissa by the same Spanish trainers.

Now, the specially trained dogs, with their handlers, will operate in the protected areas of Thrace, Epirus, Western Thessaly and Western Central Greece. in order to locate and remove poisoned baits from the field.

In fact, in the 110th Combat Wing of the Air Force, in Larissa was found the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, George Amyras to attend their last training before taking action.

As the Undersecretary stated:

“Today our struggle for the protection of ecosystems and the species they host is intensifying, as the five Belgian Shepherds take action in the field with their pilots. “The protection of biodiversity is one of the effective keys to the climate crisis.”

As it became known, the five dogs will go on regular patrols in the field assisting the work of the respective Protected Areas Management Units of the Organization for Natural Environment and Climate Change (OFYPEKA), with the organization undertaking their veterinary care and food.

As characteristically stated by ΟΦΥΠΕΚΑ, a single poisoned animal or other type of poisoned bait can lead to the mass killing or even the local extinction of a species, the phenomenon is uncontrollable and in most cases not recorded. It mainly affects carnivorous birds of prey (vulture, vulture, white-tailed deer), but also endangered mammal species (brown bear, wolf, jackal, lynx). Domestic animals, such as herding dogs, often fall victim to poisoned baits. Among other things, the use of toxic substances dispersed in nature poses a serious threat to public health and ecosystems.

As it became known, OFYPEKA From the beginning of its operation, it has included in its planning and is implementing, in accordance with its Action Plan, important actions to address the problem, such as: Proposal of a draft Ministerial Decision: “Integrated Action Plan for Combating the Illegal Use of Poisoned Bait”. Project preparation: “Promotion actions, information campaign – awareness of the general population and training of targeted population groups to deal with the illegal use of Poisoned Bait”. While, in the framework of the LIFE ARCPROM project but also of multiple actions in specialized projects, specialized interventions have been included in order to combat this illegal practice.

In addition, one of the innovative actions and which is applied for the first time in the public sector for environmental protection in Greece, is the operation of Special Poisoned Bait Detection Units (EMADD) staffed with specially trained dogs and their operators, which will operate for the first time in the summer of 2022 in protected areas of responsibility of OFYPEKA. These are 7 special teams that will operate in selected Management Units and in which there have been cases of illegal use of baits or incidents of widespread poisoning or it is judged that these areas are potentially high risk areas due to land use problems or conflicting local practices and interests.

In the responsibilities of Ε.Μ.Α.Δ.Δ. include preventive and emergency patrols to locate and remove poisoned baits from the countryside as well as their active participation in Action Plans to combat the illicit use of poisoned baits.

In the context of the implementation of the relevant legislation, the Ε.Μ.Α.Δ. will be able to carry out joint patrols with the other guards of the Units, as well as to participate in mixed research ladders, together with other competent bodies (Forestry Offices, Police, Federal Wildlife Guard, NGOs).