Disrupting the Poaching, Illegal Trade and Trafficking of Wildlife in and through Mongolia by Strengthening Mongolia’s Canine Enforcement Efforts

Timeframe: 2021 - 2022
Country/Region: Mongolia
Partner: The Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

Mongolia has a wide range of unique habitats, from taiga forests in the north, through to the desert steppe in the centre, to the wilderness of the Gobi Desert in the south. While native species in these habitats face broad pressure from climate change, habitat loss and competition with domestic livestock, the international Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is one of the major threats to many species. Mongolia’s vast size and large shared border with China coupled with limited law enforcement capacity, makes protecting wildlife and stopping trafficking extremely difficult.

Fondation Segré is supporting the efforts of the Zoological Society of London and its partners to improve the operational capacity and effectiveness of Mongolian law enforcement working with detector dogs. Key agencies in the fight against IWT, the Customs General Administration (CGA) and Police General Administration (PGA), will recruit new detector dogs, to be used for operational deployment and for breeding. The project will also refurbish and modernize detector dogs’ training and accommodation facilities to train and house them.

These activities are expected to improve capacity of key law enforcement agencies and professionalisation of detector dogs. More effective units at border checkpoints, key market, transit points and protected areas are expected to increase detection and confiscations, and in the long-term deter trade and, ultimately, poaching.