Around twenty visitors stand excitedly in a semicircle in the Frankfurt Zoo.

Several suitcases of different sizes were placed on the floor in front of them.

Two customs officials with their shepherd dog Nela have positioned themselves close by.

At the command of one of the officers, Nela runs and inspects the 14 suitcases lined up.

She gives no identification.

A suitcase is then exchanged and Nela receives another order.

She now indicates the exchanged piece of luggage, climbs onto the suitcase and freezes.

This passive display by the sniffer dogs is called “freezing”.

At the Species Protection Day on Sunday at the zoo, Customs was also on site and demonstrated not only how they act against the trade in protected species, but also what Customs found during the controls.

The information booth featured a variety of finds, from python shoes to an armadillo guitar and a stuffed cheetah.

"Customs are very active when it comes to species protection," says Customs Inspector Guido Nickel.

One of the main tasks is to monitor whether animals or parts of animals that are subject to the species protection agreement are being transported illegally.

Since 2008, German customs have received active support from species protection detection dogs.

Sniffer dogs can even smell ivory

They were introduced in a pilot project by Frankfurt Customs on the initiative of the WWF.

According to the environmental organization, the use of the dogs is a great success for nature conservation.

The sensitive noses of these animals are not only ideal for tracking down smuggled drugs, explosives or weapons, but also for discovering protected animal and plant species.

"In principle, almost any dog ​​breed is suitable that has the necessary prey drive and nerves of steel," explains Nickel.

However, customs primarily relies on German, Dutch and Belgian shepherd dogs.

Three wildlife detection dogs are currently being used by Customs Frankfurt.

Many finds are holiday souvenirs such as corals or hunting trophies.

But handbags and belts made of crocodile or snakeskin are also often found in the controls.

“Nela often discovers ivory.

That's interesting, because ivory has no smell for us humans," said customs spokeswoman Isabell Gillmann.

Nela's predecessor made the most unusual discovery.

"Labrador Uno found turtle eggs from the Seychelles, which were then hatched at the Frankfurt Zoo and finally returned to the beach where they were dug up," Gilmann reports.

The task of customs is to check the luggage and to report any criminal offences.

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the public prosecutor's office will then take over the criminal prosecution.