The British media reported this week some interesting statistics about military serving dogs and incidentally touched a little researched subject: private military dogs. The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) disclosed that about 11,000 dogs work across all sectors of the armed forces. Since 2009, about 350-370 of them have been put down. Back in 2012, the media reported a figure of over 800 military dogs put down over the previous decade. Some reasons given by MOD for putting down dogs are dangerous temperament, cancer-related problems, and injuries. Truth is, exact statistics about dog deaths are not likely to be kept, as the life and death of a military service dog is possibly not a top priority for MOD and something we have not been paying attention to. Nevertheless, it seems relevant to remember that dogs in (public and private) military service have saved countless of lives and undertake that would be lethal for humans –though their handlers are evidently exposed to constant risks. Notably, these services include the detection of improvised explosive devices (IED) and mines in Afghanistan, Iraq, the wider Middle East and many other locations worldwide, including the UK. Our K9 serving  friends play a remarkable role that should not be underestimated.

Now, have in mind the figure of 11,000 public service dogs just in the UK and try to extrapolate that figure to the private sector, globally! Just between the leading suppliers of private military and security personnel (the U.S., the UK, South Africa, and Israel) there must be at least 20,000 private military serving dogs. Here, please remember that private mine clearance and IED detection are two areas that took off during the first Gulf War and have exploded over the last decade. How many private military service dogs are currently on service? What is the life expectancy of a deployed dog? How many dogs die in service and how many are put down? Are dogs put down sometimes due to economic reasons? What are the minimum welfare standards for both public and private military serving dogs? Quite simply we do not have answers for questions like these, but it is perhaps time we start researching and debating the topic systematically.

October 23, 2013