The Conwy team helped with the Algerian disaster

British International Search and Rescue Dogs (BIRD), which is based in Conwy, has helped save lives after numerous natural disasters across the world.

Its dogs work abroad, but they are also on standby to help in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in the UK.

The group is warning that the quarantine rules could stop them from saving lives in the future.

Since the 11 September terrorist attack, the group and its dogs have been put on standby in the UK.

There are only about five or six qualified rescue dogs with expert handlers available in the UK - and many are in quarantine now Russ Vaughan, BIRD team leader

But with dogs returning from missions abroad having to remain in quarantine for six months under British law, they say this could hamper rescue plans.

The quarantine system is designed to stop diseases like rabies from getting into the UK.

"This has been an ongoing problem," says team leader Russ Vaughan of Llandudno.

Terrorist attack

"When we take the dogs abroad, the law treats our dogs no different than if we were bringing strays back.

"Since September 11, because of the heightened risk in the UK, teams like ours are now part of a Government strategy to be on standby if something like that happened here.

"There are only about five or six qualified rescue dogs with expert handlers available in the UK - and many are in quarantine now.

"Our dogs are fully vaccinated against disease - they have probably had more inoculations than me.

"They are kept under strict conditions and the chances of them having rabies are nil."

He added: "We want flexibility and common sense in the law.

"We are asking Defra to reduce the quarantine period to about 30 days and to bring in home quarantine so that essential training can still be carried out."

Fully-trained

The BIRD team's latest mission was to help rescue victims trapped in the rubble of the Algerian earthquake in May.

More than 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 people injured in the disaster.

The team has three fully-trained sniffer dogs, one of which is still in quarantine after the Algerian mission, and four others in training.

"Although there are a number of rescue teams with dogs in Wales and in the UK, only a few are trained specifically to deal with collapsed structures and earthquake sites," said Mr Vaughan.

"You have to have people who are trained and experienced to carry out systematic searches in such areas."

A Defra spokesperson said: "In this case the earthquake was in Algeria, which is endemic with rabies, so the dogs had to go into quarantine."