The Customs Administration’s 36 active teams of drug-sniffing dogs are overworked and three teams have been short of the minimum number required for the agency’s missions since December last year, officials said.
In 2007, the administration signed a memorandum with the Australian government to receive help with the breeding and training of sniffer dogs for its customs and border protection services — as well as for intelligence sharing.
By the end of last year, the administration was able to field 36 detection dog teams to screen 25 million border entries and 4.48 million cargo items per year, officials said.
Photo: CNA
Austria has 47 detection dog teams for its 18 million border entries and 3.8 million items per year, or more dog teams for less work than Taiwan, the officials said, adding that Taiwan’s sniffer dogs are clearly overburdened.
The agency’s detection dog training program has a pool of about 45 canine candidates annually, but only between two and 10 dogs show sufficient aptitude for the job of a sniffer dog, officials said.
Moreover, the first generations of Taiwanese detection dogs are nearing retirement age and should start to drop out of customs duty every year, leaving sniffing units permanently understaffed, they said.
It is estimated that Taiwan would be able to put together 38 detection dog teams by next year, still short of the 39 deemed necessary for the job, officials said.
As a result, the National Audit Office has demanded that the Customs Administration include dog and handler duty rosters in performance evaluations and incentivize competition between regional dog teams, the officials said.
In its audit report for last year, released late last month, the National Audit Office said that the Custom Administration had since 2008 spent NT$266.33 million (US$8.81 million) on its detection dog program.
Between 2010 and last year, the teams foiled 572 smuggling attempts, discovering 15,430kg of drugs, the report said.
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