LESS than two years after they were imported from England to help sniff out illegal drugs, the police have put up for sale 10 dogs which the authorities say are not earning their keep.

They just aren’t good enough sleuths.

“The experts looked at the dogs’ ability to sniff and retrieve objects but their responses were poor,” Corporal Jasper Grant of the Police Canine Division told the Observer. “That is why we are trying to get rid of them through a bidding process.”

The dogs — two Labradors, four Springer Spaniels and Four German Shepherds — were brought to Jamaica in a blaze of publicity.

With the government under pressure to do things to stem the flow of drugs and guns into the island, and the police saying that they had been applying for dog import licences since 1996, the agriculture minister, Roger Clarke, fell under pressure to relax the restrictions on the import of dogs to satisfy the needs of the police.

In fact, Clarke only relented after he had allowed in a German Shepherd from America named Valerie, to help in the search for missing American travel journalist, Claudia Kirschhoch.

But on Sunday, the police advertised the dogs for sale and according to Cpl Grant, the initial public response to the ad has been good.

The sale of the dogs will save the constabulary money and space, he said.

“They are definitely occupying kennel space,” said Cpl Grant. “Caring for them is also costly since they have to visit the veterinarian and we have to feed them and pay the persons who take care of them.”