Application of ecological search dogs within scientific research

Search dogs are used worldwide to detect rare or invasive species, missing persons and all kinds of other scents. Their efficiency often surpasses alternative methods, sometimes up to 10 times more efficient. Flanders is in the start-up phase and the possibilities for using dogs are great. Abroad, a lot is already happening that we can integrate. There is a need for projects in which the costs and efficiency of search dogs are investigated, possibly versus other techniques. Professionalising training and pilot projects can accelerate deployment in Flanders.