The U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation to authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Detector Dog Training Center, which trains beagles and other dogs – known as the Beagle Brigade – to detect food, plants, and other host material that can carry foreign pests and diseases. The center has been operating under USDA’s general authority over animal and plant health, with funding through user fees.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses dogs at U.S. ports of entry to spot contraband fruits, vegetables, and meat products in international passenger baggage, mailed packages, and vehicles entering the United States. On a typical day, CBP seizes more than 4,600 plants, meat, and animal byproducts that must be quarantined or destroyed.
Sponsored by Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), the “Beagle Brigade Act of 2023” also requires USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to report to Congress within one year on:
- Current and emerging threats to domestic agricultural and natural resources from foreign pests and diseases;
- Improvements needed in federal programs to minimize threats from foreign pests and diseases, including strengthened coordination among the APHIS, CBP, and other relevant federal agencies; and
- Recommendations for strengthening the capabilities of the dog training center in protecting against foreign pests and diseases.
While the House Agriculture Committee included a provision authorizing and funding the dog training center in its 2024 Farm Bill, the full House would need to approve the Farm Bill or pass the Senate’s “Beagle Brigade” bill before it could become law.
NPPC’s take: NPPC strongly supports the “Beagle Brigade Act of 2023” (S.759), which funds and formally provides congressional authorization for the Newnan, Georgia, dog training center.
Why it matters: Safe and reliable food production is critical to the United States’ continued national and economic security. NPPC is particularly concerned about African swine fever (ASF) making it to the U.S. mainland. According to the USDA, foreign diseases and pests carried into the United States cost the country $138 billion annually in economic and environmental losses. Strengthening early detection capabilities at U.S. borders is critically important.
[Source: NPPC 25 November 2024]