Bo is a German Shepherd breed and Judy is a Belgian Shepherd breed...

The medical authorities in Holland are taking the threat of the bird flu disease extremely seriously and are increasingly concerned about the outbreaks of bird flu that have occurred in Germany and France over the last couple of weeks. As a result they have decided to use what they call “bird flu dogs” which have been specially trained to locate poultry which is living or not in the luggage of incoming flights to Schiphol Airport

The dogs will be focusing on flights that come in from countries that are at a higher risk of the H5N1 bird flu virus and will be able to find such things as feathers or eggs that can also carry the deadly virus in them. At present the Dutch authorities have just two dogs called Bo and Judy. Bo is a German Shepherd breed and Judy is a Belgian Shepherd breed.  Both of these types of dog are known to be extremely good at sniffing out things in luggage and are often used for dogs for sniffing out drugs.  Initially Bo and Judy will be checking luggage from China, Egypt, Thailand, Russia and Turkey all of which have had quite a few bird flu cases.

Interestingly enough however the Dutch are not the first people to be using special bird flu dogs as the Czech government was the first country to make use of them. In the Czech Republic they have been very successful in confiscating poultry meat and eggs that people often try to smuggle into countries against regulations.

It is against all the rules to put any form of poultry in your suitcase or in your hand luggage when you travel across borders in Europe. It is worth remembering this because if you are caught you will have the items confiscated and you will not be refunded.