Meet Labradors Bess and Buster, trained by police in the UK for detection work in the fight against illegal wildlife trade in Thailand.

Bess and Buster will be combating the trafficking of the Critically Endangered pangolin, the worlds only scaly mammal. Thailand is a key trafficking route for both alive and dead pangolins to China and Vietnam, where there is a ready market for their scales and meat. 

Grant Miller of ZSL talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about the conservation context and why pangolins matter.  He describes what lies ahead for Buster and Bess, who will join the conservation charity’s team of experts in Thailand and work alongside conservationists, border force operatives and Thailand's own police and law enforcement.

International collaboration

The pair are just one element of a multi-prong approach orchestrated by the conservation charity, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It is an excitingly collaborative effort, involving the dog training instruction team at the UK's Metropolitan Police, ZSL and Thailand's own law enforcement. Grant explains the knowledge transfer going on, with modern dog training best practices being shared with local conservation workers. 

The dogs' initial training in the UK - which both passed with flying colours - will be completed in Thailand, where the scents they’ve been training with will be mixed with pangolin scales and eventually be withdrawn entirely. At this stage, Bess and Buster will be ready to work in the field with expert local handlers to detect the scent of pangolins being smuggled at airports, ports and roads, so the pangolins can be rescued and released back into the wild.  

Why Pangolins? 

All eight species of pangolin are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and considered threatened with extinction. Although a total ban on commercial trade in pangolins was introduced in 2017, the world’s only scaly mammal is victim to highly unsustainable levels of poaching and illegal trade for their meat, scales and other body parts – with 200,000 pangolins believed to be trafficked every year. 

Find out more about ZSL's conservation work. 

Browse Dogs with Jobs for more dogs with interesting jobs!

Do you work your dog or dogs? 

If you work your dog or dogs and would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at team@shineradio.uk.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

Meet Labradors Bess and Buster, trained by police in the UK for detection work in the fight against illegal wildlife trade in Thailand.
Bess and Buster will be combating the trafficking of the Critically Endangered pangolin, the worlds only scaly mammal. Thailand is a key trafficking route for both alive and dead pangolins to China and Vietnam, where there is a ready market for their scales and meat. 
Grant Miller of ZSL talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about the conservation context and why pangolins matter.  He describes what lies ahead for Buster and Bess, who will join the conservation charity’s team of experts in Thailand and work alongside conservationists, border force operatives and Thailand's own police and law enforcement.
International collaboration
The pair are just one element of a multi-prong approach orchestrated by the conservation charity, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It is an excitingly collaborative effort, involving the dog training instruction team at the UK's Metropolitan Police, ZSL and Thailand's own law enforcement. Grant explains the knowledge transfer going on, with modern dog training best practices being shared with local conservation workers. 
The dogs' initial training in the UK - which both passed with flying colours - will be completed in Thailand, where the scents they’ve been training with will be mixed with pangolin scales and eventually be withdrawn entirely. At this stage, Bess and Buster will be ready to work in the field with expert local handlers to detect the scent of pangolins being smuggled at airports, ports and roads, so the pangolins can be rescued and released back into the wild.  
Why Pangolins? 
All eight species of pangolin are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and considered threatened with extinction. Although a total ban on commercial trade in pangolins was introduced in 2017, the world’s only scaly mammal is victim to highly unsustainable levels of poaching and illegal trade for their meat, scales and other body parts – with 200,000 pangolins believed to be trafficked every year. 
Find out more about <a href="https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/conservation">ZSL's conservation work</a>. 
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/petersfieldstories/playlists/dogs-with-jobs">Browse Dogs with Jobs</a> for more dogs with interesting jobs!
Do you work your dog or dogs? 
If you work your dog or dogs and would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at <a href="mailto:team@shineradio.uk">team@shineradio.uk</a>.
© &amp; ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

Local stories, local voices and local information from Petersfield.

We cover community news, culture, nature, history, events and entertainment in the South Downs market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, UK.

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Shine Radio is the radio station made by you. Share your stories or join our volunteer team. Find out more at https://shineradio.uk, email team@shineradio.uk or call Petersfield 01730 555 500.

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Local stories, local voices and local information from Petersfield.
We cover community news, culture, nature, history, events and entertainment in the South Downs market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, UK.
This feed includes all our on-demand audio. Find our more specific feeds by searching "Petersfield" on your  favourite podcast app.
Shine Radio is the radio station made by you. Share your stories or join our volunteer team. Find out more at <a href="https://shineradio.uk">https://shineradio.uk</a>, email <a href="mailto:team@shineradio.uk">team@shineradio.uk</a> or call Petersfield 01730 555 500.
You make it shine.

Voices and stories from Petersfield in Hampshire, UK