World Scene: Malaysia

Canines to sniff out pirates

Malaysian authorities said yesterday they hope two specially trained dogs will help police sniff out pirated DVDs and clean up the country's reputation as an abuser of intellectual property rights.

The two male Labrador retrievers from Northern Ireland, Paddy and Manny, are trained to smell chemicals used in DVD production. They will become the world's first permanent, national anti-piracy canine unit when they go into action next month, according to Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.