HUNGER THROWS SNIFFER DOGS OFF THE SCENT

Pangs of hunger are distracting sniffer dogs from their job of detecting
illegal drugs, the House budget scrutiny panel was told yesterday.

In one case, a sniffer dog at Chiang Mai airport took intense interest in a
bag which was subsequently found to contain sai ua, or northern sausage.

The incident was humiliating, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, a Democrat MP, told
the panel as it considered the Narcotics Control Board's request for 424
million baht.

Some of the sniffers were so hungry they could not do their job, said Mr
Surapong, who called on the board to set aside at least two million baht to
feed them properly.

The current allocation of one million baht, or about 10 baht a day per dog,
was not enough. Mr Surapong also suggested the board give the dogs extra
training to cope with new tactics used by traffickers.

"The traffickers always have new tricks. Sometimes they smear balm around
drug packages to throw the dogs off the scent," he said.

Sorasit Saengprasert, the board secretary-general, said the police have set
aside five million baht for the 100 dogs in the next fiscal year. The
board's request was approved without cuts.