About Bomb-Sniffing Rats
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Sixty million landmines dot 69 countries worldwide – the result of conflicts past and present. And an estimated 25,000 people are maimed and killed each year by these deadly explosives.
Clearing mines from old war zones can be a difficult and time-consuming task, usually involving metal detectors or trained dogs. But a Belgian researcher has come up with an alternative. He has trained African giant pouched rats to sniff out landmines. There are several advantages: They don’t explode the mines when they step on them, they stay healthy in tropical areas, and they’re cheap and easy to breed.
More than 30 HeroRATS have been deployed in Mozambique, where, so far, about a quarter square mile of minefield has been cleared.
(Source: National Geographic)
This new is exciting and gives me hope that we are still concerned and doing something to help.