Minister meets four-legged border protectors

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner acknowledged the valuable assistance the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) Detector Dog Breeding and Training Centre has provided New Zealand Customs, on a visit to the Centre in Melbourne.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet the hardworking Customs staff – both four-legged and two – at the Detector Dog Centre,” Ms Wagner says.

“New Zealand Customs has been working with the ACBPS Detector Dog programme since 2002. The ACBPS provides up to five dogs a year under an agreement that has seen 27 dogs join NZ Customs since 2008.

“Our Customs Detector Dog trainers travel to the Canberra Centre on an annual basis to select purebred Labrador dogs based on their attitude, temperament and strong – but not aggressive – retrieval instinct.

“The world-class programme also provides dogs to agencies in Australia, such as the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force, and to other agencies world-wide.

“The Labradors are very intelligent and have a keen sense of smell. They are trained to detect a variety of commodities such as drugs, explosives, cash and firearms.

“The partnership with the ACBPS Detector Dog Breeding and Training Centre adds value to what NZ Customs does and both agencies benefit from the close working relationship,” Ms Wagner says.