Conservation Dogs

Wildlife Protection Services NZ dog handler, Leona Kirk, trains and works with two rodent-detection dogs for conservation projects nation-wide.

Fox/border terrier, Bail, was bred and trained specifically for detecting rodents. Bail and Leona started working together in 2012 and have since been part of over twenty different projects.

Katie, the Welsh Springer Spaniel is in training to become a rodent detection dog.

Dog handler Leona and her dogs Bail & Odin. Rodent dogs are based in Timaru.

How we work

Working alongside the Department of Conservation and private projects alike, the dogs and handler are available to assist in the following ways:

Detecting the presence of rats or mice
Identifying rodent populations
Assisting in quarantine procedures of vessels/ cargo/ food/ passengers
Aiding in standard rodent monitoring
Checking for rodents in the presence of rare or endangered species
Participating in advocacy work for schools and universities interested in dogs working for conservation

Most common length of time required by the team in good conditions to operate is an 8-hour day per 100 hectares for normal surveillance.
This time increases depending on how thorough the search needs to be and in what conditions they are done. In the case of an island the service of a vessel will give more time to survey rugged and hard-to reach coastlines.

Macquarie Island

The team played a vital role in the rodent detection group deployed on Macquarie Island in the Australian sub-Antarctic. After spending 13 months there, they returned in April 2014 when the successful eradication of Macquarie Island was announced.