WB Forest department recruits two Belgian Malinoise canines to crack down on poaching in Covid-19 times 

This time, the state forest department has recruited two trained dogs –Orlando, a Belgian Malinois and Shyana, a Belgian Shepherd, in its forest guard squad to combat and prevent a number of wildlife crimes — from poaching to timber smuggling.

Biswabrata Goswami

MIDNAPORE, 27 JUNE: Spotting a Belgian Malinois in the patrol teams deep inside Maoist territory in West Midnapore and Jhargram districts once became a bad omen for the rebels.

Extensive use of ferocious dogs in the anti-Maoist operations had been successful, and the dog squad in the Headquarter of 207 CoBRA at Salboni in West Midnapore then instilled fear among the ultras that had though minor presence in the Junglemahal three years ago.

This time, the state forest department has recruited two trained dogs –Orlando, a Belgian Malinois and Shyana, a Belgian Shepherd, in its forest guard squad to combat and prevent a number of wildlife crimes — from poaching to timber smuggling.

The new entrants, a senior state forester said, had been trained at the National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD), run by the Border Security Force (BSF) at Tekanpur near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

Orlando has been posted to Gorumara National Park (located in the Dooars, Jalpaiguri district) while Shyana has been selected for the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve (South 24-Parganas). The service books of these two new recruitments have already been opened, a senior forest official said.

The Malinois, a breed that was also used by US Navy Seals in the raid at Abbottabad in Pakistan against then al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, was first used in the elite anti-Naxal force Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) under the CRPF and the paramilitary’s Western and Odisha sectors, a few years ago to combat Maoist insurgency. 

This time, the forest department has first choice to use them in combating wildlife crimes in the state reserve forests.

“Poaching has shot up to 151 per cent during the lockdown. In this grim scenario, we are not taking any chances and have just recruited two especially trained experts to crack down on poachers,” said a forest official.

The canines were not restricted just to sniffing explosives. The para-military forces had also used them for assaults and reconnaissance patrols. With new training techniques they were also able to sense an ambush-ensuring that troops were alerted in advance, a CoBRA official said.

“Dogs had played a major role in thwarting Maoist strategy by giving early warnings about the presence of an ambush. Many surrendered rebels had revealed in interrogation that if they saw dogs in a patrol they were doubly careful and many times had to retreat since the forces were alerted about a trap laid by the Maoists”, said the official.

“With human intelligence failing, dogs provide a great support system. Not only have dogs been responsible for huge seizures of explosives, but they have also saved several lives by indicating that there is an ambush,” the CoBRA official added. 

For forest guard troops, the two dogs have two trainers each, who have also spent nine months at the Gwalior school, training with them. Two more dogs will graduate from the school on June 30, bringing up the state's dog squad strength to nine.

“These dogs are trained to sniff out poachers hiding in the forests and tracking them down to their homes. Bengal had set up its dog squad in 2017 with four canines. One more joined the squad in 2018. All of them have contributed hugely to keep animals safe in the forests,” a senior forester said.

Courtesy: Images from iNET.