Hong Kong customs to offer regional sniffer dog training after its facilities certified

Hong Kong’s customs authorities can now train sniffer dogs from across the Asia-Pacific region after one of the department’s canine training facilities gained international accreditation.

The Customs and Excise Department’s kennels at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge’s Hong Kong Port was inaugurated as a World Customs Organisation Regional Dog Training Centre on Wednesday, becoming only the fifth in the region.

“From now on, Hong Kong customs will show responsibility in arranging training to the Asia-Pacific members of the World Customs Organisation,” Commissioner of Customs and Excise Louise Ho Pui-shan said after a ceremony to mark the achievement.

Ho added that the department would develop an assessment and evaluation process for the training needs and canine force development status of member states across the region, so trainers can tailor workshops and seminars to the individual needs of members.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge centre has bred 28 puppies in four litters and trained 27 pairs of dog handlers since it was set up in 2018.

Its most recent litter was eight springer spaniel puppies born to Effie, a tobacco detector dog with the customs department, and Twix, a male dog who served with the Fire Services Department’s urban search and rescue team on its mercy mission to earthquake-hit Turkey last year.

The pups, born last November, will start 10 weeks of training at the regional dog training centre when they are a year old.