People with dog phobia (cynophobia) or fear of dogs have been assured that the animals deployed at international airports and ports in the country will not be a nuisance to anyone.
The same will also be the case for those with taboos or those whose beliefs do not subscribe to the doctrine of dog sniffing. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Egyne Emmanuel, who is the trainer for the Canine Detective project who has worked at Dar es Salaam Port, Tanga, Mtwara and Mwanza, has assured the public that the dogs are highly trained to behave well and were not a nuisance to anyone.
“Even when the dogs are using sniffing techniques to detect illicit drugs and ivory, they can do it without coming into contact with the people,” he clarified. He said that the legality of canine detection of drug searches has also a legal backing and people ought to comply.
“In very rare cases there might arise a need to bring the dog close to the suspect and we normally educate the person on the advantage of dog sniffing of the items or bags,” he said.
He further said when dogs are deployed to search for a suspect and articles of evidential value they can indicate by sticking to the area where the illegal item is located.
Canine detective experts say that under such circumstances the dog is trained only to physically apprehend the suspect in self-defence, if it is attacked or the suspect attempts to evade arrest.
They also explain that when a dog is deployed to search for articles they are trained to indicate in a possible manner to maintain the integrity of scientific evidence held by that particular item.
However the SSP also cautioned that people should not pet the canine dogs, since they can distract their attention once they embark on the mission to detect illicit drugs or ivory.
“Please we advise you to stand one meter or two away,” he cautioned. These dogs, he said, are highly trained and part of the training is not to attack people or keep barking in public places causing a nuisance to others.
Meanwhile, four canine detective dogs that were received recently are the game changers in the fight against ivory and drug trafficking in the international airports,ports and other borders in the country.
Speaking to the Sunday News the Charge ‘D’ Affairs of the US Embassy, Ms Virginia Blaser said that these dogs are game changers because they are smart , quick and able to pick suspecteds item such as illicit drugs and ivory.
“There is no mistake about it, everyone saw the presentation, how smart, how quick they were able to pick this up,” she explained. The envoy said that: It means you can build hard and solid cases when you find the evidence and go into arrest and then prosecution.”
She further stressed that there was need to get these bad guys out of the streets who continue to abuse the nation and stripping it in the world of its natural wealth.
“We have to do everything we cannot to let the drug traffickers, ivory traffickers and other criminals live in the world freely. “These dogs are an embodiment of what Tanzanian ministries can do if they work together,” she said.
She said that all these ministries consolidated their effort to ensure that the canine detective project was a success. “What was really inspiring to me as a long time diplomatic official was really to see for the first time Tanzanian ministry working together in the way they had never done before,” she said.
She further said that the issue of sustainability of the canine detective project it has to start with the healthy programme of four canine dogs. “..I think the secret to this project’s success as of now and going forward it’s got to be integrated with every part of Tanzanian government and Tanzanian people,” she underscored.
“Everybody has to play his part whether you are a game warden upcountry, or you are a community nearby. If you are supporting the tourist industry, you gonna make sure the tourists understand and appreciate the wealth of this country,” she said.
She added that : It’s not about money, but it’s about the people in the region and the riches that are here to share. Everybody has a part to play.
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