PARIS - Police said yesterday they were trying to sniff out the kidnappers of seven highly skilled truffle dogs which disappeared in southern France at the height of the season for gathering the pungent and costly black fungus.
Three of the dogs were found wandering the countryside near Pernes les Fontaines, in the Vaucluse department, but four were still missing. A good truffle dog requires a year or two of training and can cost up at 15,000 francs (£1,700).