Adding teeth to India’s wildlife law enforcement initiatives, 14 wildlife sniffer dogs and their 28 handlers completed their training on 8 August 2025 at the National Training Centre for Dogs, Basic Training Centre, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (NTCD, BTC-ITBP), Panchkula, under WWF-India’s pioneering wildlife sniffer dog programme. They have been deployed with the forest departments of eight states, of which Rajasthan is getting its first-ever wildlife sniffer dog squad.
The training of 14 young dogs and their 28 handlers started in January 2025. Their 7-month training included learning skills to detect wildlife contraband, track poachers, and deter wildlife crime.
Dr Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director, Biodiversity Conservation, WWF-India, said, “Illegal wildlife trade is reported to be growing and is a highly organised criminal activity. There is a need to strengthen the wildlife law enforcement agencies, both at the central and state levels. The future of India’s tigers, elephants, rhinos, pangolins, turtles, tortoises, birds, marine species and many others depends on collaborative efforts to mitigate the threat of illegal wildlife trade”.
“India’s wildlife sniffer dogs have been making a huge mark in curbing illegal wildlife trade as they play a crucial role in supporting state forest departments and other government agencies. From just two dogs that we provided in 2008, the programme has grown to train and deploy 120 wildlife sniffer dogs nationwide” Dr. Ghose further added.
Inspector General, Shri Ashok Negi PMG, National Training Centre for Dogs, Basic Training Centre, Bhanu, Panchkula, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force said, “Illegal wildlife trade and wildlife crime are a serious threat to wildlife in India, and trained wildlife sniffer dogs are indispensable in the fight against these”.
“We have decades of experience training sniffer dogs for crime detection and prevention including wildlife sniffer dogs. The current batch of WWF-India’s wildlife sniffer dog training programme is the 5th to be trained at NTCD, BTC-ITBP, Panchkula, and we are happy to extend our full support for their training. We congratulate the wildlife sniffer dog squads and wish them the best” added Shri Negi.
The trained wildlife sniffer dog squads are being deployed at Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla (GGTP) Tiger Reserve, Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, Indravati Tiger Reserve and Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh; Kuno National Park, Pench Tiger Reserve and Sanjay National Park in Madhya Pradesh; Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra; Kawal Tiger Reserve in Telangana; Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar; Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan; and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand; Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
The 14 wildlife sniffer dogs and their 28 handlers passed out during a glittering ceremony organised to celebrate their training completion at NTCD, BTC-ITBP, Panchkula today. WWF-India wishes them the very best for their new role and extends full support in their mission to curb wildlife crime and protect our forests and wildlife.