WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following recently confirmed cases of African swine fever and avian influenza, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has joined U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) to reinforce training for the ‘Beagle Brigade.’

The ‘Beagle Brigade’ is a specific class of dogs that sniff out cargo for unauthorized meat, animal byproducts, fruit and vegetables that could carry potential diseases and pests onto U.S. soil.

Last summer, cases of African swine fever were confirmed in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

On March 2, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed a positive case of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

“Iowa farmers know the dangers harmful diseases, like highly-pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever, pose to our state’s agriculture sector, and how critical it is to ensure we do everything we can to keep them out,” Ernst said.

According to the USDA, the beagles “search for prohibited agricultural products at cargo facilities and major U.S. ports of entry” such as airports.

“The Beagle Brigade is a key tool in our nation’s toolbox in detecting these serious diseases before they find their way into the U.S., and we ought to ensure this important program gets the proper backing to continue its work,” Ernst said.

Employed by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, the ‘Beagle Brigade’ is trained at the National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Ga., on 17 acres with eight buildings and 100 kennels.

“Protecting Georgia’s agriculture is good for our farmers, good for our economy and good for the health of our state,” Warnock said.

“If we want to continue this important work, Congress needs to pass this bipartisan legislation (the National Detector Dog Training Center Act) to give the Beagle Brigade explicit authorization so it can operate for years to come with direct congressional support,” he added.

The legislation builds on Ernst’s past efforts to bolster America’s border security and inspections, including her co-sponsorship of the Protecting America’s Food & Agriculture Act of 2019 that was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The bill authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bring on more inspectors and canine teams to fully staff our nation’s airports, seaports and land ports of entry.

“They’re a key tool in protecting against some of these diseases before they come into the U.S.,” Ernst told Iowa Public Radio. “They use some of them in airports because of course people bring in unauthorized goods through TSA (Transportation Security Administration), and other means.

“So, we see that there,” she added. “We do see them being used at the borders as people are bringing goods over the borders as well. We know that they’re out there. They work.”

According to the American Kennel Club, about 120 beagles are employed by Customs and Border Protection, as well as state and local government agencies and departments.

Each beagle goes through 13 weeks of rigorous training at the National Detector Dog Training Center before starting their job, the club said.

“Spread out across 88 major international airports in the U.S., these specially-trained detector dogs use their powerful sense of smell to locate food and other plant and animal products that are prohibited in the U.S.,” the club said in a statement. “When one of these pups comes across an illicit scent, they let their handler know by sitting down, and the handler takes it from there.”

Currently, the National Detector Dog Training Center gets about $7 million a year – largely from traveler and cargo user fees that tend to fluctuate, which Ernst said are “really unstable.”

Ernst and Warnock’s legislation would streamline the funding that supports the training center, and ensure it has the proper backing. “It’s that wild swings in funding that don’t allow the consistencies that we need to make sure we’re protecting our goods here in the United States,” Ernst said.

Under the act, the center would be funded through Congress, which would appropriate money specifically for the training center.

“It would be a stable funding source,” Ernst said. “Every year, they would know that these are the funds coming from Congress into our coffers, rather than maybe one year you do have a lot of user fees; the next year, you have very few user fees.”