KUALA LUMPAR, Malaysia: A gang of DVD pirates became so scared of a pair of sniffer dogs that they hired bounty hunters to try and assassinate the canine law-enforcers.
The contract, which was unsuccessful, was a measure of the pooches' success in leading police raids and sniffing out pirate-DVD stockpiles. In only two raids the pair found more than 1.2 million illegal movie discs, according to the Irish Post.
The Post said the black Labradors, Lucky and Flo, are the only sniffer dogs in the world trained to find the chemicals and polycarbonates used to make pirate DVDs.
The Labs built their reputation while working at London's Stansted Airport, and after wowing Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) officials in Washington, they were dispatched to Malaysia to put the bite on that country's rampant pirate DVD industry.
In a trial mission codenamed 'Double Trouble', the pair were so successful that the beleaguered DVD pirates put a price on their heads. However the aspiring bounty hunters went empty-handed. After being kept safe at a secure location in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Lucky and Flo continued on their merry way to the Phillippines, where they detected 300,000 additional illegal DVDs and were responsible for eleven arrests.
"Lucky and Flo will be here for a considerable amount of time and we will be going all over Manila, and we are also contemplating going all over the the rest of the country," Edu Manzano, chairman of the Philippine Government's Optical Media Board told the Post.
"So far they have been very, very effective."
That's the lowest act, trying to hurt, kill or maim a poor animal which is just doing what it has been trained to do. The two lucky labs may have escaped this time, but I'm sure there have been less-lucky animals which have been killed previously, we just didn't hear about them. I don't agree with software piracy in any case, but especially when it claims innocent victims such as these dogs.
oh i'm sure the MPAA would just LOVE to have an entire army of bootleg-sniffing dogs!
Think about it: these pirates are so well-organized and have lots of resources. I'm sure making pirated DVDs are a HUGE business for these people, and they most certainly have the means to take out a nuisance like our two dogs here.
I agree with Kathy. I'm not a huge fan of pirated DVDs myself, but it goes to an incredibly new low when pirates stoop to animal cruelty as well.
i think its nice that dogs are beign trained to fight criminal elements. on the downside, a lot of these crooks are also willing to pay hard cash to make sure nothing gets in their way- like these dogs!
I heard that pirated DVDs are a huge business in those Asian countries. People get rich because of those kinds of businesses! It comes as no surprise that these pirates do have the means to kill those pirate sniffing labs. Crazy bunch of people. Do they actually believe that by killing those dogs, they can get away with the illegal stuff that their doing? That's so lame. Hope proper authorities get them so these labs can be spared from danger.
labradors are really smart and highly trainable. with my own lab, sushi, i have taught her quite a number of tricks already and she's quick to pick them up.
labradors and golden retrievers are really very smart dogs. i should know coz i have both. they are quick to learn and are very friendly at the same time.
These dogs are really becoming famous all over the world. It would be stupid if these pirates kill these dogs who are trained to be of service. If they do kill those dogs, what? Do they think that authorities would actually give up fighting for piracy? Hope these dogs are well-protected.