Page 260 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
the former racial policies of neighbouring South Africa, Botswana has, out of economic necessity, maintained close ties with that country.
Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months (December to April); however, it is undependable, and the country is often subject to drought. Savannah vegetation predominates and consists of grasslands interspersed with trees. Mineral resources include diamonds, copper, nickel, and coal. Wildlife is abundant with principal species including lion, giraffe, leopard, crocodile, and elephant.
The BDF has a strength of about ten thousand with many personnel employed almost full time in anti-poaching operations. Botswana is one of the most richly populated countries for wildlife, but poaching has decimated elephant and rhino numbers. BDF soldiers, nicknamed “Wildlife Warriors” are aware that poachers are illegally entering Botswana from neighbouring countries, and much of their work is in defensive patrol operations. The BDF are committed to stopping this illegal, and often cruel and barbaric killing of their wildlife.
A dog section was formed in 1992, but unfortunately teams had never reached an operational standard due to non-availability of suitably qualified and experienced Instructors. A role for dog assistance in anti-poaching and smuggling operations was identified by the Commander BDF and from that office came the request for help.
The BDF Dog Section, we found on arrival, would best be described as in its formation stages, with all the problems associated with the formation of any new unit. Most of the dogs had been purchased from dealers in South Africa and were good quality and temperament. A few had been bred within the section and these were immediately assessed as unsuitable for military training due to their size and temperament. Training had been attempted in several classifications, but none of the teams were considered to be ready for Operational deployment. With this in mind it was decided to conduct training according to the standard available and the immediate Operational requirements.
The dog unit was sub-divided into three; Sections A, B and C, each of approximately ten dog teams. B and C sections were trained for detecting explosives, weapons, munitions, drugs, ivory, and rhino horn.
The training of the dogs and handlers almost mirrored the training practices of the DAC and a similar programme to the Drug Dog Course was developed for the training of the dog teams for the detection of ivory and rhino horn. This is primarily achieved by searching vehicles at international border crossing points. The initial training of all classifications was conducted at the
BDF HQ location at Gaborone, the capital city, and lasted for approximately six weeks. The standard of dogs and handlers varied greatly, but because of the enthusiasm of all the BDF handlers a high success rate was anticipated.
The Operational familiarisation phase was undertaken within the Chobe region of Northern Botswana, 1200 kms north of Gaborone. The deployment was made by road and should have been completed in two days. However, due to the poor state of vehicles, our local navigator wishing to go by the scenic route and slow-moving elephants having right-of-way at all times, the journey took four days of very arduous driving. Eventually arriving at our chosen site, field kennels were erected utilising natural shade cover and anything else we managed to “borrow” from the local inhabitants. The greatest problem making this field kennel suite, and perhaps a point potential dog trainers should take note of, was that of preventing inquisitive wild animals entering our location. This problem is exaggerated when the “inquisitive” animals include a 7000kg elephant wishing to wipe his feet on your sleeping bag, and a very hungry and determined pack of hyenas wanting to try Pedigree dog food. All of the field positions had to be encircled with wire, and night sentries armed with thunder flashes which were found to be the most effective means of keeping elephants and other large animals at bay.
The BDF have an Operational and very effective mounted patrol and were willing to let us recce the area from the saddle. This was a fantastic experience. The panoramic views of surely one of the most beautiful areas in the world coupled with having the opportunity of seeing the abundance of wildlife in a natural environment, is a memory never to be forgotten.
Great concern was expressed at the thought of having dogs come into close proximity with wild and potentially very dangerous animals, but it soon became very clear that the saying “If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you”, was very true – except when dealing with African Buffalo. The warnings that were given about wild animals all centred around the African Buffalo, not the rhino or lion as we had anticipated. The Botswana Special Forces invited the four of us to accompany them on a routine foot patrol, along the stretch of the Botswana/Namibia border. A few hours into the patrol, the Commander signalled for the group to stop, and passed back a message to us. The message was, “Run for your life.”
Heartbeats increased and adrenaline glands worked overtime whilst thoughts of why, where
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