Tracker dog's 'version' jails poachers

01 November 2015 - 02:00 By MATTHEW SAVIDES

Two Mozambican poachers will spend 14 years in jail thanks to the "testimony" of an anti-poaching dog named Killer. Andolino Mulcube and Jermano Tive, both 20, were sentenced on Tuesday in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court after being convicted last month of killing two rhinos, and dehorning one of them, in Kruger National Park more than two years ago.It was Killer's "almost flawless" sense of smell - along with the skill of his handler - that played a huge role in the convictions, said Henry Holsthyzen, head of the Paramount Group K9 Academy, which trained the Belgian Malinois.Killer tracked the men's spoor to the scene of the slaughter in the Nwatensi area of Kruger in January 2013.One of the rhinos had already been shot and dehorned. Nearby, another rhino, with its horn still intact, also lay dead.Killer again picked up the scent and led his handlers to where the pair of poachers crouched in the bush almost a kilometre away from the scene of the killing.A third man, who had the gun used to kill the animals, had escaped - and this meant that Killer's "testimony" in linking the men to the dead rhinos was the only evidence available.Magistrate Edward Hall was convinced, ruling: "Trackers and dogs are recognised in courts and in the manner they are trained and perform. The court can accept their version."This was Killer's 117th arrest in the past two years...

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