Detector dogs for dieback

Detector dog Kelly has been partnered with Megan Barnes of Detection for Good, which deploys detection dog teams for environmental and health applications. Milo’s handler is Liam Brown of Glevan Consulting, which provides dieback mapping services. Image credit: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions / Miles Brotherson

Two new scent detection dogs have been delivered to Western Australia and partnered with their new handlers as part of a multi-state Saving Native Species project.

Milo and Kelly are both English springer spaniels and will be used by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ (DBCA) Plant Diseases Program to sniff out Phytophthora dieback on the conservation estate.

Phytophthora dieback is the greatest disease threat to the flora of the south-west bioregion of WA, where it is known as the ‘biological bulldozer’.

The dogs have been trained in New South Wales to detect the microscopic plant pathogen that causes Phytophthora dieback, Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Following successful pilot studies by TATE Animals and New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, DBCA secured $1.3 million in grant funding from the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program for this project.

DBCA is the lead agency for the dieback detector dog project in which teams of dogs and handlers will be used to help manage threats to native plants in three States – WA, NSW and Tasmania.

“It’s fantastic that WA is leading the way in this tri-State initiative to protect our threatened species and biodiversity from the scourge of dieback,” said Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn.

“These energetic and friendly dogs have the capacity to deliver cost-effective rapid detection of Phytophthora cinnamomi in both the lab and the field.

“By using dogs in this way, we aim to change the way dieback is mapped by land managers, which has follow-on benefits not only for conservation but also for farming, forestry and industry.”