Six cadaver dogs in the small border state of Saarland in western Germany have been specially trained to help in the fight against African swine fever.
The work of the cadaver dogs is to sniff out dead wild boars.
In case of an outbreak, the dogs are meant to help track down dead boars in the forests.
Professional hunter Rene Wiese said the rapid removal of carcasses would be key in fighting the disease because other wild boars could
be infected by the dead animals.
The special training was developed by the Saarland Environment Ministry, the association of Saarland hunters and a private dog-training school.
The head of the federal police canine unit in the city of Koblenz also regularly attended drills.
More dogs are to be assessed before Christmas.
African swine fever is a virus that is not dangerous to humans, but always fatal in pigs.
It can affect both wild boars and domestic pigs and so far there is no vaccine for the fever.
There have been no infections recorded in Germany so far, but cases have been detected in neighbouring countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium.
Denmark on Monday completed construction of a 70-kilometre fence on the border with Germany as part of efforts to combat the spread of the disease. (dpa/NAN)
