Lieutenant General Tumrongsak Deemongkol, Director-General of Thailand Mine Action Center (grey shirt), and Sirisupa Kulthanan, Assistant Resident Representative UNDP Thailand (to his right), stand with the newest mine-detection puppies and their trainers. |
16 new demining dogs to help make Thailand a safer place
23 September 2009 – Sixteen puppies, aged between six to eight months, have started their initial training as mine detection dogs at the Mine Detection Dogs Center in Nakornratchasrima Province of Thailand.
Out of 16 trainees, 12 canines will be chosen to work in Thailand’s Humanitarians Mine Actions Units (HMAUs) for demining operations throughout Thailand in 2010.
The twelve dogs will replace the current rotation of 18 mine detection dogs, who have reached retirement age after eight years of service on the Thai-Cambodian border.
“The new mine detection dogs will greatly support the mine clearance operations for Thailand, both for technical surveys and quality assurance,” said Lieutenant General Tumrongsak Deemongkol, Director-General of Thailand Mine Action Center.
An average dog team works at three times the pace of human clearance teams. They are especially effective in areas of high metal contamination, which often inhibit the speedy demining of designated areas. The dogs will also play an important role in verifying when areas are cleared of mines.
Thailand has committed to demining the country’s remaining 560 square kilometers of minefields over the next nine years, as outlined by the Convention on the Prohibition of Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.
The recruitment and training of the mine detection dogs is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) Project.
“This programme will not only speed up the demining process, but it will also make Thailand a safer place and improve the livelihoods of people living in mine-affected areas,” said Sirisupa Kulthanan, Assistant Resident Representative, UNDP Thailand.
For further information and photos of the initial training day, please contact:
Mark S. Cogan, Communications Officer, UNDP Thailand, office: 02 288 1887, cell: 087 972 7435
