Marking International Dog Day with a celebrated partnership
12.00pm 26 August 2025
Today, 26 August, is recognised globally as International Dog Day. Customs proudly joins fellow border and enforcement agencies worldwide in recognising the invaluable contribution our detector dogs make to protecting our borders and communities from harm.
For over 50 years now, detector dogs have played a vital role in Customs’ daily operations, and their impact continues to grow. Each year, Customs detector dogs and their handlers successfully detect hundreds of kilograms of illicit drugs from Customs’ operational facilities, and millions of dollars in undeclared cash at airports.
Customs Director International, Michael Blades says as our detector dog programme continues to thrive with strong domestic and international partnerships remaining essential to strengthening enforcement capabilities with neighbouring agencies in the Pacific.
“Since its establishment in 2018, the Pacific Detector Dog Programme has supported Pacific nations to strengthen their frontline responses and develop enduring enforcement capability.“Enhancing enforcement capability in the Pacific is critical to maintaining a secure and resilient region in the face of growing transnational, serious, and organised crime threats.”
Jointly delivered by New Zealand Police and Customs, with funding support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the programme builds operational capability by training detector dog teams from across the region.
“Detector dogs are a vital enforcement tool in the fight against transnational, serious and organised crime syndicates that continue to target Pacific nations. Wherever illicit goods are found, criminal activity is never far behind, and our Pacific Detector Dogs are expertly trained to detect and disrupt these threats, stamping out the possibility of it getting to our own shores.”
In an added boost, funding for the Pacific Detector Dog Programme is increasing to $6.7 million for the next five-year period, up from $3.8 million from the 2018 to 2025 period.
Mr Blades adds it's great to see the continued investment in the Pacific Detector Dog Programme, which is a testament to what can be achieved when countries unite around a shared goal of protecting our borders and keeping our communities safe.”
