Since the early 1990s, the Hong Kong Police Force has been deploying stray dogs as members of its sniffer dog squad in order to detect the presence of illegal substances. Because they have not been trained to recognize certain odors, stray dogs have a greater chance of being able to detect drugs than trained dogs do.
This is because they have not been exposed to the same odours.
The canines have proven effective in the initiative, which has led to the discovery of drugs in a wide variety of settings, such as schools, nightclubs, and even on the streets themselves. Not only have the dogs been useful in locating drugs, but they have also been instrumental in the capture of several individuals involved in the drug trade.
The initiative has received a lot of acclaim from a lot of different people, including the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has claimed that it is a humane and effective means of dealing with the problem of drug trafficking.