Putting a Jinx on Rats

The Welsh government are putting £250,000 into the biosecurity of populations of endangered seabirds. These include the Puffins on Skomer island. Part of their money, will be spent to employ Jinx, a 3 year old Cocker spaniel. Jinx is trained to sniff out rats (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/08/meet-jinx-the-dog-on-a-mission-to-protect-welsh-bird-colonies-from-rats). Rats multiply quickly and can decimate colonies of ground-nesting seabirds, especially on islands. The rodents eat the eggs and attack the helpless chicks. Jinx will indicate to handlers, if rats are present. The dog will locate them but will leave the humans to deal with these pesky rodents.