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Police Dogs to Sniff Out Pest in Palm Trees

ABU DHABI — The intelligent police dogs that take no time in tracking down criminals, arms, bombs and drugs will now sniff out insects that infest palm trees in Abu Dhabi.

The Central Command of Abu Dhabi Police recently completed the successful specialised training of three sniffer dogs in a bid to weed out the Red Palm Weevil (RPW), considered to be a dangerous pest threatening the date palm cultivation in the region.

The experiment was jointly conducted by the Al Ain branch of the Sniffer Dogs Section of Abu Dhabi Police and the Foaa Farms Development and Management in Al Ain.

The team included non-commissioned officer Ahmed Al Darmaki, who was the supervisor of the training programme, and seven trainers from the police and Foaa.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jamal Habash, Head of the Sniffer Dogs Section, said Minister of Interior Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been briefed about the experiment, and he has welcomed it and urged the team to double efforts in the next phase.

“The task was launched by selecting three dogs (German Shepherd and British Labrador) which have a strong sense of smell. The dogs underwent training split into eight stages,” Major Hashim Al Sayed, Head of Police Dogs Department, Al Ain branch, said.

“The task was difficult and unique at the same time,” the officer said.

The dogs responded well and were able to identify infected trees. Agricultural experts checked the trees which the dogs had identified and found that they were infested by RPW, Al Sayed said.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com