Capable of leading a handler quickly to buried explosives, our use of dogs can speed up demining and suspect 'area reduction' projects by up to 300 per cent.
Handling live animals does not come without its problems – wet or windy and temperature conditions affect this method and the cost of handlers and kennels is also a consideration.
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Photo: A dog sniffing for landmines and unexploded ordnance in Iraq. [Photo: MAG Iraq] |
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However, their appropriate use, particularly in low-risk ground, is hugely significant.
Currently we prefer to use mine and explosive detection dogs in the following areas:
• Clearance areas prepared by remote-controlled flail or vegetation-cutting machines
• Area reduction in low-risk areas
• Quality control after clearance
As with other methods employed by MAG, the use of dogs forms just one part of our overall approach in clearing conflict-affected countries.
