by Alan Jacques
THE US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service has welcomed a new canine recruit to the enforcement team at its preclearance facility in Shannon Airport.
Kingston, a two-year-old beagle, arrived in Ireland in early August with his handler, CBP agriculture specialist Thanuja Hall. Shannon Airport is now the only preclearance facility in Ireland with an agriculture canine team.
Prior to arriving in Ireland, the team completed a mandatory US Department of Agriculture training at the National Detector Dog Training Center in Georgia. All the detector canines are adopted from rescue shelters in the States, like Kingston was, or gifted to the service through private donations.
“Kingston and I are excited to be the first line in defending American agriculture from harmful pests and disease prior to them entering the US as the only agriculture canine team at a Preclearance facility,” said Thanuja.
“Being a part of a canine detection team is not only one of the greatest jobs there is at CBP, but it is also one of the most important,” she boasted.
CBP agriculture canine teams at ports of entry, land borders and mail facilities are the front line in the fight against the introduction of harmful insects and disease into the United States. Every pest or disease intercepted could cause million in damages to US agriculture. CBP agriculture specialists’ vigilance helps protect America’s farms, forests and natural resources.
“We are very pleased to have CBP Agriculture Specialist Hall and her K-9 partner Kingston on board here in Shannon Preclearance. The CBP agriculture mission is an integral part of our processing and we are extremely fortunate to have this canine team asset at our Preclearance location”, said acting port director Gregory Starr.
