Man's best friend preserving man's great achievements... In the struggle against looting, illicit trafficking, and violent extremism, humanity has a new ally - our canine companions.
The Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the
Penn Museum, both part of the
University of Pennsylvania, have partnered with Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law and Policy Research to explore an innovative way to train dogs to find smuggled cultural artifacts hidden in crates and packages. It's called the K-9 Artifact Finders program. This innovative project has the potential to revolutionize the way law enforcement can locate and identify trafficked antiquities from specific, diverse conflict zones, and to significantly reduce the flow and resale of looted or illegally procured heritage at international borders.