The aim of the project, sponsored by ISPRA (Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), LEGAMBIENTE, SIEF (Italian Society of Ecopathology of Fauna) and Federico II University of Naples, Dept. of Veterinary Medicine, concerned the creation of dog-handler pairs suitable for detecting wild boar carcasses, to be used in monitoring operations in the context of African swine fever prevention and control projects. Throughout the day the canine units were subjected to a series of field checks aimed at testing the ability to find and report the target odor in a realistic environment with common distractions.
The results of the test, in which Dr. Gian Mario de Mia and dr. Francesco Feliziani of the National Reference Center for ASF which is based at IZS in Perugia, the ENCI councilor Angela Francini and the president of the Tuscan Regional Canine Council Riccardo Soderi confirmed that specialized dogs can be an effective tool in passive ASF surveillance operations. With this pilot study, ENCI confirms the technical contribution made in recent years, through studies and research, to the monitoring, management and conservation of wildlife. (The President of ENCI Dino Muto)
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