Special K-9 units may soon be deployed in the fight against terrorists and criminals looting precious artefacts from war zonesWorking dogs are being trained to sniff out ancient treasures smuggled from countries such as Syria and Iraq. The pioneering US research programme – “K-9 Artifact Finders” has been set up in response to alarm over cultural heritage trafficking.
Dogs already play a crucial role in helping detect narcotics and explosive devices. The new programme,involving the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Vet Working Dog Centre, is hoping to expend them to root out cultural artefacts in shipping containers, and cargo crates,the post and luggage. Michael Danti, an archaeologist who has worked in Iran, or Iraq and Syria,said that dogs can already detect soil and agricultural products, and he believes that their target scents could be further refined.
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Source: guardian.co.uk