The SWiPE project awards the best initiative against wildlife crime

Daniel Garrido, dog trainer at Guardia Civil, received the prize from WWF Spain, in recognition of his work and commitment to the fight against wildlife crime.

Prosecution of wildlife crimes greatly depends on the personal awareness, willingness, and commitment of those in charge of it, often facing insufficient resources. The SWiPE project wants therefore to recognize the importance of pioneer initiatives against such crimes.

WWF Spain, on behalf of the SWiPE project, has honoured Daniel Garrido with the European Award against Wildlife Crime for his commitment to tackle such crimes. Daniel, dog trainer at the Spanish Military Police (Guardia Civil) specialized in the fight against poisoning, has played an essential role in convicting perpetrators and reducing the sense of impunity. He is also a renowned trainer for anti-wildlife crime dogs and their guides.

The award ceremony has been part of the I National Congress of Ecodetection Dogs and Nature Conservation (Vielha, Lleida – Spain). With this, WWF wants to recognize the great work of dog handlers and their dogs in detecting and prosecuting crimes against fauna, such as the illegal use of poisoned baits, species trafficking or illegal hunting.

The immense potential of ecodetection and sniffer dogs has been made clear during all the interventions at the Congress. Their usefulness includes monitoring programs for threatened species, detection of invasive alien species, infrastructures environmental impact assessment, detection of pathogenic agents in biosecurity, border security, and detection of poisoned baits and other crimes against fauna.

Sniffer dogs against wildlife crime

Learn more about how detection and sniffer dogs work to detect wildlife crime such as poisoining, poaching or trafficking.