Czech dogs are helping fight animal poaching in the Republic of the Congo

Specially trained dogs from the Czech Republic have been helping fight illegal poaching in the Republic of the Congo for the past decade under the Malina pro Slona (Raspberry for an Elephant) project, and another is set to join their ranks this fall. Czech trainer Hana Böhme shared the news during the African Days event at the Safari Park Dvůr Králové nad Labem.

Avatar, a one-year-old Belgian Shepherd trained by Böhme to detect illegal animal artifacts, will join the fight against poachers in the Congo this autumn. Avatar will work with customs officers at Brazzaville airport, where he will sniff through luggage to detect ivory and animal trophy smugglers.

Avatar was born last March and underwent over a year of rigorous training as part of the Raspberry for an Elephant project, which Böhme has been running since 2014. This initiative aims to train dogs to help combat illegal wildlife trafficking. Avatar will be the seventh dog from Czechia to serve in the Republic of the Congo. He is scheduled to fly to the Congo in late September or early October.

"As soon as the dog detects a valuable trophy, it breaks the smuggling chain and many people lose money," Böhme told reporters in Dvůr Králové nad Labem. "We, the animal protectors, appreciate their work, but the smugglers and traffickers certainly do not."

These trained dogs assist customs officers and police in detecting smugglers, both during traffic checks and in national parks. The Czech dogs have played a crucial role in uncovering hundreds of cases of illegal animal trafficking. They are adept at detecting not only ivory and animal trophies but also wild animal meat. Commonly smuggled items include elephant ivory, leopard skins, pangolin scales, and nyala skins.

The training and deploying of one dog to the Congo costs about CZK 250,000. Böhme finances this through donations, fundraising, and her own resources. The training utilizes scent samples from animals such as okapis, chimpanzees, and lemurs housed at Safari Park Dvůr Králové.

The Raspberry for an Elephant project is named after the Belgian Malinois sheepdog, a particular breed of Belgian Shepherd known colloquially as "raspberry." The first dog sent to the Congo under this project was Cama, a female Belgian Shepherd, in 2015. Unfortunately, Cama died in a car accident the following year.

Between 2019 and 2020, five more dogs trained by Böhme were deployed to the Congo. Since then, the project experienced a temporary halt due to the Covid pandemic, with Avatar the first dog joining the ranks since 2020. More information about the project can be found at the Raspberry for an Elephant website.