Meet Jinx, the dog on a mission to protect Welsh bird colonies from rats

Jinx, the UK’s first conservation detection dog, in training with the RSPB. Photograph: Patrick Olner

A lively spaniel with a nose for sniffing out rats has been unveiled as a new weapon in the fight to protect precious seabird colonies on small islands off the Welsh coast.

Billed as the UK’s first “conservation detection dog”, Jinx’s role will be to keep islands such as Skomer, off Pembrokeshire, famed for its colonies of puffins, clear of rats, which can decimate bird populations.