TWO Notts bloodhounds have been sent to Africa to track poachers.

The dogs were members of the Readyfield Bloodhounds pack, from Caunton, near Newark, and are more used to taking part in hunts in the surrounding counties.

Now, they will be putting their skills to use in the wilds of Africa, tracking down poachers who illegally hunt rhino.

David Boddy, who founded Readyfield Bloodhounds with his father Peter in 1980, said the dogs were selected because of their experience and stamina.

"We are delighted if our hounds can do some good out there," said David.

"They are both six years old, they were experienced and they have hunted since they were puppies. They have got to cope with the heat out there and both have a lot of stamina.

"We have been asked by the police to help track criminals a couple of times using the hounds but have never had anything like this before. It's really good news."

The dogs arrived safely in Kenya last Thursday after their eight-hour flight, but were then delayed for five hours by customs officers because of confusion over paperwork. They will now protect white rhinos in the Chyulu Hills.

Mr Boddy was contacted by Giles Sim, a former hunt master in Essex, who noticed the problems with poaching and how poachers were being tracked by bloodhounds during a visit to Kenya.

When one of the hounds died he asked if Mr Boddy could help out by sending any over from the Caunton-based pack.

Mr Boddy gave two hounds – Drastic and Pension – to the cause, who will now be looked after by the Maasailand Preservation Trust.

Richard Bonham runs the Maasailand Trust and will now be looking after the hounds. He said: "The hounds have been getting on really well and there have been no problems introducing them to the others.

"They will be backing up our ranger force, pulling up poachers and will be doing quite a lot of work for the community – being sent to track shop thefts and break-ins.

"One of the major things is also they are a huge deterrent. It's another layer of security for us and they catch people that we couldn't."

Save the Rhino and the Tusk Trust were among the groups that helped raise £2,000 for the hounds to be flown over to Nairobi – with Kenyan Airways halving the cost of the flight.

claire.carter@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk