Bipartisan legislators are commending the House Agriculture Committee’s advancement of the Beagle Brigade Act (H.R. 1480), which authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Detector Dog Training Center.
U.S. Reps. Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) recently praised the measure’s advancement, citing the center’s efforts to extensively train detector dogs and Customs and Border Protection handlers to sniff out prohibited agricultural items that could carry foreign plant or animal pests and diseases into the country.
“The U.S. agriculture sector touches every American’s life,” Bishop said. “It is a $1 trillion industry constantly under the threat of foreign pests and diseases – such as African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, or citrus greening disease – that could be introduced through our nation’s ports of entry, including airports, harbors, and mail and cargo facilities.”
Bishop said agriculture detector dogs, also known as the Beagle Brigade, are an important tool in preventing threats and eradicating them in the event they overcome safeguards.
The dogs, primarily beagles, and their handlers detect prohibited fruits, vegetables, and meats in international passenger baggage, mailed packages, and vehicles entering the United States.
“The National Detector Dog Training Center – which is located in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District – does important work to properly train detector dogs to sniff out prohibited agricultural items in domestic and international trade,” Ferguson said. “The Beagle Brigade Act would authorize this training center to ensure America’s food supply chain stays protected from potentially devastating foreign pests and disease. I’m proud to see this important legislation unanimously pass out of the House Agriculture Committee – and thank my colleagues for their leadership on this legislation. I look forward to the Beagle Brigade Act becoming law.”