China trains squirrels to detect drugs

The squirrels trained to detect drugs are deployed in the Chongqing municipality in southwest China. Here, the small, nimble critters are encouraged to find banned substances in a complex environment like a warehouse or delivery station.

There are a total of six squirrels certified by scientific research institutions to detect drugs.

Squirrel vs Drug Dog

“Squirrels have a very good sense of smell, but in the past we have not been able to properly train rodents in terms of technology to drugs ,” said Yin Jin, a handler with the police dog squad of the Hechuan Public Security Bureau. in Chongqing.

Yin: “Our self-developed training system can be applied to the training of different animals.” The training gives very good results with the Eurasian red squirrels quickly learning to identify the resources. Unlike dogs, squirrels are small and agile, making them good at searching high places and narrow, crowded spaces. The squirrels are taught to scratch when they find something.

Source: global times (EN)

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