British Army to Introduce Sniffer Donkeys

British soldiers, weighed down with bulky metal detecting kit, have been a common sight in the warzones of the world for the last ten or so years. The resurgence of booby traps and mines has become the number one cause of casualties among coalition troops and efforts to mitigate the threat have become a military preoccupation for commanders and planners.

Due to a recent campaign by the RSPCA, dogs are being withdrawn from combat duties due to their not having a choice about being put in danger. Activists have successfully lobbied parliament into banning their use for explosive detection but MOD officials have come up with a work-around. From early 2016, the Royal Veterinary Corps will introduce the first of four new sections of sniffer donkeys to active service.

The Working Donkey Regiment will implement the animals into the new 105 Squadron, based at North Luffenham, and it will work alongside the regular 1 MWD unit. Both units will be set up as part of the British Army’s basing plan under FR 2020. Local infrastructure is already geared towards supporting the new unit as North Luffenham boasts the country’s leading equidae cognitive management and research centre and the units will be close to the Defence Animal Centre at Melton Mowbray.

Secretary of Defence, Michael Fallon, told press that “the need for a new approach to non-destructive explosive inspection was needed due to the government’s determined effort to remove dogs from front line jobs by the end of 2015”. He also stated that “future efforts to train and implement alternative species into the British Army shows real ambition on the part of the Ministry of Defense.”

The MWD units headed for North Luffenham have already begun training. 12 donkeys, imported from Spain, have all cleared immigration under EU pet passport regulations and they have already been seen training in Eastmere Village in Thetford. Eastmere Village is the location of the British Army’s state of the art Afghan Village complex which is the envy of military nations all over the world.