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The US Department of Agriculture has a wonderful,
but little known program, for helping protect the United States from
foreign illness and diseases. The USDA’s Beagle Brigade is
making headlines across the country as they search for contraband at
all of the U.S. ports of entry, averaging over two million
interceptions a year. This includes unauthorized meat and animal
byproducts, as well as plant pests and diseases that could be harmful
to American agriculture. The Beagle Brigade can be found hard at work
at all major international airports, where they work alongside the U.
S. Customs Service, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Health,
and even the INS.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, or APHIS, chose beagles for use in their program
for their acute sense of smell, friendly disposition, and, of course, a
natural love of food. Their incredible sense of smell can detect scents
that are so faint that even high-tech equipment cannot measure. This
makes them invaluable in sniffing out illegal products concealed in
luggage or cargo containers. Their willingness to work for treats keeps
them happy and companionable, and most travelers are not worried by
their presence due to their gentle nature. The beagle is a very
non-aggressive dog, and is very calm even in crowded busy airports,
where they work among passengers claiming their bags.
The Beagle Brigade began in 1984, at Los Angeles
International Airport, with a single beagle and a lone handler. By
1987, the APHIS had opened three training centers focusing on beagles
as detector dogs, in Miami, San Francisco, and New York. The Beagle
Brigade can now be found across the country, and not only in airports,
but also along the US-Mexican border and in postal facilities. The
successfulness of the program has even led APHIS to provide training to
several other countries looking to start similar programs of their own,
including Canada, Australia, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
One of the most surprising aspects of the Beagle
Brigade is that many of these beagles would have been euthanized. All
of the dogs have been rescued from animal shelters or privately
donated. Any dog that fails to pass the evaluation given by the APHIS
is NEVER returned to a shelter, but kept until it is given a good home.
Dogs retired from the Brigade are also put up for adoption through the
APHIS.
Dogs and handlers start training together, and
complete a course where the dogs are taught to react to the scents of
several fruits and meats. The beagle is given a food reward for their
response, which is usually sitting as close to the scent as possible.
After approximately 8-12 weeks of training, the teams are moved to work
"on-site" with a trainer for another week. After about a year on the
job, the beagles have a success rate of 80%, rising to 90% after two
years experience.
The Beagle Brigade can also be found hard at work
teaching people about the importance of the USDA and agriculture, and
has been recognized repeatedly by New York and New Jersey as airport
ambassadors. It has also been given national recognition by several
organizations for its work in rescuing dogs from shelters and finding
them new homes.
To learn more about the Beagle Brigade, visit the APHIS
home page, or write to Beagle Brigade c/o USDA APHIS
Legislative and Public Affairs, Unit 51, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD
20737-1232.
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