Canine Training Program in Kazakhstan
ASTANA. July 13. KAZINFORM On Thursday, July 14, the Canine Center of the Customs Control Committee of the Ministry of Finance in Almaty will hold a ceremony to officially close a four-week interagency advanced canine instructor development course.
The course, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) section, was hosted by the Ministry of Interior Canine Center June 21-July 2 and by the Customs Canine Center July 4-14.
This course served as advanced training for canine instructors - from all of Kazakhstan's law enforcement agencies - who had previously been sent by the U.S. Embassy for a two-month training course to the Austrian Ministry of Interior Canine Center in Bad Kreuzen, Austria. During this recent course, participants were able to observe behavior of dogs during the training process; discuss pre-training and training stages of their dogs; and further develop the skills of service dogs in detection of drugs, explosives, and other contraband.
Speakers at the closing ceremony will include Marko Velikonja, Transnational Criminal Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Astana; Ryspek Smakov, Head of the Canine Center of the Customs Control Committee; and Josef Schuetzenhofer, Head of the Canine Center of the Austria Ministry of Interior. Mr. Schuetzenhofer will brief on the methods of training.
Following the ceremony, participants in the training course will conduct a demonstration together with their four-legged colleagues; Kazinform refers to the US Embassy in Astana.