Poachers in their sights:

The finest sniffer noses in search of death

A short break: the dog handler and her sniffer nose go berserk for a moment.

(Bild: Bettina Fröhlich)

Police and NGOs such as WWF and BirdLife are joining forces to fight the country's poachers: In future, four-legged friends are to track down illegally killed animals throughout the country. In Burgenland, they joined forces with the "Krone" newspaper to search for the carcasses of white-tailed eagles and the like.

They could be mistaken for walkers - the four dog handlers and their four-legged companions roaming the fields in the district of Neusiedl (Bgld.) on Wednesday morning. The "Krone" was able to see for itself that they are not at all like that during a local inspection. The four dogs deployed are so-called cadaver sniffer dogs. Their noses are specially trained to sniff out dead creatures, no matter how small. One of the dogs also has additional training in poison.

No part of a carcass or poison residue, however small, escapes the sniffer dog.

(Bild: Bettina Fröhlich)

East hotspot for raptor hunting, west for wolf and lynx
The four-legged friends' task: accompanied by the animal welfare organizations WWF and BirdLife, as well as experts from the Federal and Provincial Criminal Police Offices, they searched for illegally poached animals in two hunting areas. In eastern Austria, the animals are mostly white-tailed eagles, imperial eagles, red kites or hen harriers, as Johannes Hohenegger from BirdLife explains. These protected, endangered species are often shot from the sky or poisoned. But wolves and lynx were also on many a shooting list in Tyrol and Carinthia last year.

Unfortunately, the police do not have any dogs specially trained for carcasses or poisons, so we are very happy to have partners such as WWF or BirdLife.

Karl Frauenberger, Referatsleiter für Umweltkriminalität im Bundeskriminalamt

Pilot project in Neusiedl to be expanded
Police and NGOs are now working together across Europe to put an end to wildlife crime. A great thing, according to Chief Inspector Karl Frauenberger from the Federal Criminal Police Office. The pilot project in Neusiedl should be repeated in future - in other parts of the country too. According to the criminalist, it serves to find poisons and carcasses of poached animals. And to warn the hunters who were watching the action with interest from afar - "we're keeping an eye on you." The public should also be encouraged to report dead animals.

There were plenty of finds during the search operation. Now they need to be examined.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

Sleuths came across carcasses and traps
The four dogs deployed in Neusiedl on Wednesday returned successfully from their search operation. A total of 20 parts of different animals were found. In addition to some hares and deer that had presumably died naturally, there were also parts of a buzzard and a suitcase trap. Whether the finds are the result of poaching, however, must first be determined by a forensic examination in the laboratory.