State Department to monitor bomb-sniffing dogs more closely after several die in Jordan and Egypt
|
Version 0 of 1. State Department officials said Monday that they will increase their monitoring of bomb-sniffing dogs deployed to foreign governments after an internal report said numerous dogs sent to Jordan and Egypt had become sick, and some had died, because of improper care and unsanitary living conditions. “Any death of a canine in the field is an extremely sad event, and we will take every measure possible to prevent this from happening in the future,” a State Department official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The State Department’s inspector general has issued two recent reports on what has happened to some of the 200 bomb-sniffing dogs sent to foreign governments under a counterterrorism program designed to uncover explosives at airports, infrastructure and other soft targets. In September, the inspector general said that at least 10 of 100 dogs sent to Jordan between 2008 and 2016 had died of medical problems. Some had died of heatstroke, disease and overwork, the report said, and kennel sanitation was “barely existent.” Several of the surviving dogs suffered from hip dysplasia and arthritis, the report said, and had “lost the will to work.” At least three of the 10 dogs deployed to Egypt had died, though the inspector general had difficulty making a full assessment because the Egyptian government would not allow inspectors to visit the airport where the dogs were working. The State Department had known about some of the issues for years, particularly in Jordan, and was trying to improve conditions that left dogs malnourished and emaciated, with engorged ticks, parasites and mange. After the September report from the inspector general, the State Department temporarily suspended the deployment of additional dogs to Jordan and Egypt. In a follow-up report issued Friday, the inspector general said that even more dogs had died since the initial report, including one that was poisoned in Jordan after an insecticide was sprayed in or near its kennel. The United States has sent dogs to foreign governments for more than 20 years. Currently, more than 135 dogs are in the field in eight countries — Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Nepal, the Dominican Republic and Afghanistan. Most are German shepherd mixes or Belgian Malinois with sharp-tipped ears, but the State Department recently has tried to send more Labradors and other floppy-eared working dogs that look friendlier when deployed at airports, officials said. Under the Explosive Detection Canine Program, the State Department also sends American trainers and veterinarians to oversee the dogs’ treatment. It costs $640,000 just to send trainers out when the dogs arrive for a 30-day training program for 10 canine teams, each composed of a dog and its handler. In addition, two “mentors” have been sent to Jordan to provide on-site training for the dog handlers in police units, at a cost of $500,000 a year. The cost of sending a veterinarian and a veterinarian technician to Jordan is $540,000 a year. U.S. officials said they will not send any more dogs to Jordan and Egypt until they are sure that the countries will adhere to stricter standards. The State Department also has asked the U.S. embassies in the two countries to get more involved in oversight. Officials from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security traveled to both countries after the September report. A State Department official said the dogs still in the field there are in good condition, describing them as “working well, in good health and actively being utilized.” |