Explosive Detection Dog Sniffs Out 'm Is For Mates'

< BACK TO GOVERNMENTS starstarstarstarstar   Government - Governments Press Release
2nd April 2009, 02:31pm - Views: 867





Government Government Minister For Veterans' Affairs 1 image




Parliament House Canberra ACT 2602 

Telephone 02 6277 7820  Facsimile 02 6273 4140

The Hon Alan Griffin MP

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs


VA017


Thursday 2 April 2009  


EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DOG SNIFFS OUT ‘M IS FOR MATES’ 


Explosive detection dog, Ivy, today helped Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Alan Griffin to launch ‘M

is for Mates’, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs education resource for primary school

students.


Primary and secondary schools across Australia each year receive an education resource from

the Australian Government to help teach a new generation about Australia’s wartime history.



Mr Griffin said that this year all primary schools around Australia will receive a copy of ‘M is for

Mates – Animals in Wartime from Ajax to Zep’ to teach students about the animals that

Australian forces have relied on in wartime and in peace operations. 



“Animals are an important part of Australia’s wartime history and many animals work in the

Defence Force today. The education resource, ‘M is for Mates’, is an engaging and lively way to

teach children about our wartime heritage by focusing on the roles that animals have played

during war and peace operations,” said Mr Griffin.


“Many animals have served Australian forces overseas – camels transported soldiers and

equipment in Africa and the Middle East, carrier pigeons delivered messages and, more

recently, dolphins have been trained to detect underwater mines.


“In the First World War 120,000 Australian horses were deployed overseas and many young

men from the bush joining the Light Horse Brigades took their own horses to war with them.”


“Dogs, as well as being ‘man’s best friend’, performed important jobs such as carrying

messages, tracking down enemy soldiers and warning of aircraft attacks, and today dogs serve

in locations such as Afghanistan, the Solomon Islands and East Timor, detecting explosives.”


Ivy, a black Labrador who detects explosive devices for the Australian Army, demonstrated her

skills at today’s launch at Curtin Primary School, the ACT Primary School winner of the 2008

Anzac Day Schools’ Awards.


“With her handler, Ivy can save lives. A dog’s sense of smell is hundreds of times more

sensitive than ours and Ivy is trained to protect people and places by sniffing out explosives,” Mr

Griffin said.


The Department of Veterans’ Affairs worked with the Australian War Memorial to develop the

resource which works alongside the AWM’s travelling exhibition ‘A is for Animals’.  Information

on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs education resources, including the secondary school

resource ‘Australian Prisoners of War‘, and the Anzac Day Schools’ Awards is available at



Editor’s note:  An image of ‘M is for Mates’ and photographs of the event are available by

emailing dvamedia@dva.gov.au.

Media inquiries: Laura Ryan 0437 863 109






news articles logo NEWS ARTICLES
Contact News Articles |Remove this article