Beagles sniff out smuggled Chinese duck at Bangkok Airport

Thailand‘s sharp-nosed sniffer beagles strike again, this time detecting 7 kilogrammes of illegally imported raw duck at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport that arrived on a flight from China.

Sniffer dogs from the Department of Livestock’s Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit were on duty at the airport looking for any illegal movement of live wildlife and animal carcasses when they uncovered the raw duck meat hidden in some luggage.

Customs officials say the Chinese duck importer violated Section 31 of the Animal Epidemic Act (2015)…

“For the purpose of prevention and control of epidemics, any person who imports, exports or transits an animal or carcass through the kingdom shall obtain a license from the Director-General or a person entrusted by the Director-General for each import, export or transit through the kingdom.”

The duck was seized and samples were sent to the Department of Livestock for laboratory analysis. Once approved, the duck will be destroyed according to department regulations.

The department’s strict approach to the illegal importation of animal carcasses enables Thailand to prevent disease and epidemics. In November, the beagles sniffed out “smoked bats” and processed pork hidden inside the luggage that flew in from Kunming in China.

Director-General of the Department of Livestock Development and Veterinarian Somchuan Rattanamangkhalanon said the sniffer dogs are especially wary of luggage arriving from “high-risk” countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, and China.

Recently, two British Labradors flew to Thailand to join the beagles in their fight against illegal animal smuggling. The dogs have been trained to sniff out pangolins – the most trafficked animal in the world. These scaly anteaters are trafficked for their scales, used in traditional Chinese medicine, and sometimes for meat, with demand in Vietnam.

Beagles are a dog breed known for having keen noses. In fact, when a Korat man took his pet beagle for a walk in November, the dog led him into the undergrowth to a human corpse.