30 Things You May Or May Not Know About
30 THINGS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
WAGTAIL UK LIMITED AND THEIR DETECTION DOGS
1.Wagtail UK was founded in June 2003 by Managing Director Collin Singer after he had served for over 23 years in the Royal Air Force Police as a dog handler. It is now celebrating its 15th year.
2.During his time in the RAF, Collin was an operational Explosives Detection Dog handler - The callsign for Military Explosive Detection Dog Handlers is ‘Wagtail’.
3.The company has 42 staff permanent based in Northern France. In the UK it employs a further 26 permanent staff, comprising of specialist handlers, trainers, admin/support staff and kennel staff.
4.Wagtail HQ is at Mostyn Estate, near Holywell North Wales. Mostyn Estate is the home of Lord Mostyn, It is a country estate set in 3,500 acres of North Wales countryside. The Estate is 1 hour drive from both Liverpool and Manchester.
5.Wagtail train dogs to detect explosives, firearms, drugs, cash, tobacco, ‘live bodies’, great crested newts, bats, animal scats, ivory, ‘live animals’, illegal meat and other products of animal origin.
6.Wagtail UK has provided Live Body Detection Dogs to the UK Border Force in Northern France since December 2008. During that time their dog teams have detected thousands of illegal immigrants.
7.The handlers in France are mostly recruited from a British Military or Police background. Many of its personnel have served in hostile environments throughout the world. This includes Afghanistan, Iraq, The Balkans and Northern Ireland.
8.Wagtail UK won the ‘Home Office Supplier Of The Year’ Award 2011/2012. Wagtail has won a number of other awards since 2011.
9.It is one of very few private companies that is licensed by the Home Office to store and keep explosives and drugs for the purposes of dog training.
10.Wagtail is ISO 9001 accredited. It is approved by the UK Ministry of Defence to deliver courses to service leavers.
11.Training is based on the standards and principles set by the British Military and Police and ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers).
12.All training is based on a ‘reward’ system. The dogs are trained to detect a scent and they are rewarded with a ball or a toy.
13.Wagtail procures its ‘green’ dogs from various sources including private owners, gun dog breeders and rescue centres. It selects the working breeds such as labradors, springer spaniels, cocker spaniels, pointers, border collies etc. Cross breeds can also be selected.
14.Wagtail was the first private company to provide dogs at the construction site of the London 2012 Olympic games where it provided dogs to detect explosives, drugs and also provided security/patrol dogs.
15.Since April 2011 Wagtail has provided illicit tobacco detection dogs to HMRC. Working with HMRC inland detection teams Wagtail have enjoyed numerous successes including millions of cigarettes and ‘tonnes’ of tobacco Wagtail tobacco dogs also work with Trading Standards Teams throughout the UK and it recently provided tobacco detection dog teams for ‘Operation Henry’. ‘Operation Henry’ was a National Crackdown in England on illicit tobacco. The Operation was funded by the Department of Health and managed by the Trading Standards Institute. Over 2.5 million cigarettes were seized during Operation Henry. Wagtail also provided the tobacco dogs for ‘Operation Lauderdale’ which was a Trading Standards exercise targeting Self Store Establishments across the whole of London and for ‘Operation Fetch’ a crackdown on illicit tobacco in Wales.
16.Wagtail is currently the exclusive supplier of detection dogs and handler training to Irish Customs. This includes a requirement for the dogs to detect drugs and or tobacco, cash and meat. The Wagtail trained dogs have enjoyed considerable success working with their handlers from Irish Customs over a number of years.
17.Wagtail has a sister company called Conservation Dogs. Founded in January 2012, the award-winning Conservation dogs was set up to for the training of wildlife detection dogs to assist with conservation needs and ecological surveys. It also provides dogs to detect products of animal origin including elephant ivory, pangolin, leopard skin, lion skull and ‘live animals’. Conservation Dogs and Wagtail have ongoing projects in Gabon and Tanzania.
18.Wagtail UK is widely considered as one of the leading detection dog companies in Europe. Other clients include The Royal Air Force, The Army, The Defence Animal Centre, Ministry Of Defence, DFT, DSTL, various UK Police Forces, Sultan of Oman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, GE, Northrop Grumaan, Raytheon, Paris International Air Show, Farnborough Air Show, Flintshire County Council, Port Of Mostyn, G4S, Safe Sec Guarding, Reliance, Granada TV Studios (Coronation Street set), BBC, HM Prison Service, British Transport Police, Singapore Armed Forces (2 day seminar), Kings Office Jordanian Armed Forces, Maputo (Mozambique), EWT (Endangered Wildlife Trust) South Africa, WCS(Wildlife Conservation Society) Gabon and Tanzania, Blue Hackle (Iraq), Integrated Security Consultants (Wembley Stadium), NFL (Wembley Stadium), Lords Cricket Ground and The Olympic Delivery Authority – London 2012
19.Wagtail staff and dogs have appeared on TV several times. This has included Ross Kemp, Extreme World, The BBC One Show, Sky News, Fake Britain, The Kyle Files, UK Border Force, Extraordinary Dogs, BBC X Ray, BBC Crimewatch Roadshow, BritCam, Springwatch and numerous regional TV news programmes. It has also appeared on radio shows and in national and local newspapers.
20.Not all the dogs selected for training make the high standards Wagtail require for our detection dogs. The company has its own rehoming website and service - Red Paw Rehoming. Red Paw Rehoming ensures that dogs that do not complete training or have come to the end of their working service with Wagtail are found a caring, loving home.
21. Wagtail are on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter: See Links below:
22. In February 2013 Wagtail and it’s sister company Conservation Dogs delivered Ivory Detection Dogs to Gabon, Africa. It is the first private company in the UK to deliver dogs to detect ivory. The dogs can also detect other ‘Products Of Animal Origin’ such as leopard skin, pangolin scale and bush meat.
23.As an innovative, forward thinking company. Wagtail formed a partnership with The University Of Liverpool to carry out research in to how dogs can detect a human scent. This project looked at how a dog can detect the chemicals present in human scent - Acetone, Isoprene, Propanoic Acid and Lactic Acid.
24.Wagtail also played an integral part in successful trials with the Department for Transport and the Defence Research Science and Technology Laboratory for the use of dogs in UK airports.
25.In 2015 Wagtail opened a new training school to provide detection dog and other courses - Wagtail International School of Excellence (WISE). This centre of excellence is approved by the Ministry of Defence and will offer specialist dog training courses in a number of different disciplines for clients in the UK and overseas. It is accredited by the Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) and the Open College Network (OCN) to deliver nationally accredited courses.
26.Wagtail has recently achieved a Bronze award with the UK Armed Forces Covenant scheme. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. The covenant work with businesses, local authorities, charities and community organisations to support the forces through services, policy and projects.
27.In August 2016 Wagtail secured an exclusive contract to supply explosive detection dogs at Old Trafford Stadium, home of Manchester United Football Club. Wagtail provide dog teams before all Premier League Football matches and other major events at Old Trafford.
28.In April 2017 Wagtail commenced a research contract for the UK Government, Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) to research the capability of detection dogs for a number various potential ‘new’ odours. Wagtail has commenced a second DSTL contract in September 2017.
29.In July 2017 Wagtail purchased a large boarding kennel facility on Cheshire. With a licence for 85 dogs, Rose Tree Farm Boarding will give the company a much greater kennelling capacity to meet the increase in demand for its detection dogs. Already a successful boarding business the facilities also include hydrotherapy, a grooming facility and a pet shop. Wagtail now has its own kennelling facilities for 120 dogs.
30. Wagtail has its own ‘Puppy Development Programme’ which ensures that the company has a consistent pool of new ‘K9 Recruits’ that it can train now and well in to the future.
Social Network Sites Useful Links:
Linked In: Collin Singer
Twitter: @wagtailUK_dogs @conservationdog