Two detector dogs join the fight against plant disease

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Two detector dogs have joined WA's workforce to help conservationists in the fight against the devastating plant disease, dieback. The management of dieback has challenged authorities, but it's hoped the furry recruits will make detection far more efficient.

Transcript

00:00It's man's best friend, Lending, a paw. Kelly and Milo are the first detector dogs

00:09to be permanently based in WA to improve the state's management of dieback.

00:13Parts of the dieback management puzzle that have been really challenging up to now and

00:18the dogs can come and fill in that puzzle piece to help us get a better strategy overall.

00:25The pair of 14-month-old English Springer Spaniels are trained to sniff out the smallest

00:29scent of the disease before signs of infection are visible to conservationists, a trick experts

00:35say is a game changer.

00:37We hope that this program will accelerate the identification of dieback samples, making

00:44it cheaper and more accessible and easier to rapidly clear areas.

00:49Dubbed by environmentalists as the biological bulldozer, dieback has wreaked havoc on the

00:54country's native vegetation for more than 50 years by attacking and rotting plants at the

00:59roots.

01:00It's wiped out up to 90% of plant species in some areas and affects some of WA's most

01:06well-known species like Proteaceae which includes Banksias and Hakeas.

01:11Rising temperatures making the disease harder to manage.

01:14So we've had a lot of drought making it really hard to read those landscapes and the dogs are

01:19better able to read those landscapes and they can also do it immediately in the field.

01:24dieback detection possible in minutes instead of weeks.

01:28Dieback is still our number one threat in WA because it just impacts so many species over

01:32such a large area.

01:34The DBCA secured $1.3 million in grant funding from the Commonwealth's Saving Native Species

01:40Program for the project which will see the dogs travel across WA over the next six months,

01:47sniffing out any sign of dieback to help authorities manage the spread of the disease.

01:54And with an average career of 10 years, these clever canines will be making their mark.

01:58fine work.

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