![\"Pigs,](\"https:\/\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2016\/07\/10\/02\/30\/pigs-1507208__340.jpg\")
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In an effort to relieve some of the pressure on working dogs in bomb-detection units, the US Army has announced that it will employ a sounder of trained truffle-sniffing hogs to detect roadside and mid-road homemade IEDs.<\/p>\n
Since pigs are renowned\u00a0for their refined sense of smell, particularly in the search for a favorite delicacy of les Crapeauds, a small sounder of young pigs will be chosen for this honorable employment within the next few weeks. As is well-known to any truffle hunter in Provence, pigs are widely-known for their ability to detect that buried treasure, no matter how deep it may be. They are, in fact, considered to be much better at it than dogs, partly because their flat, shovel-like snouts can get to the root of the problem and detect the distinct differences in scent between oak roots and the horse-manurelike scent of the black truffle, a rare, highly-sought after and prized fungus which can fetch up to $1200 per pound.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2014\/07\/10\/truffle-2500-australia-ted-smith_n_5571053.html<\/a><\/p>\n There have been trials in Israel, and while successfully completed, the reluctance of most Israelis to accept pork in their midst, per kosher dietary laws, has made it difficult to bring a full-blown pig bomb detection unit into effect.<\/p>\n