Rats to sniff out landmines
2005-06-01 09:30
Zagreb - Croatia is considering using specially trained rats to help in neutralising unexploded landmines left over from the 1990s Croatian-Serbian war, media said on Tuesday.
The report said Belgium has offered to provide Croatia with the trained African rats. Rats have been described as a cheap and efficient way of removing landmines. After being released into the minefield, they sniff out the landmines and after detecting one, start scratching the ground, thereby alerting their handlers.
"Basically, it's the same principle like with dogs, but unlike dogs which sometimes got blown away due to their weight, rats do not have such problems, and rats also do not get bored so easily," said an official of the Croatian Demining Centre (HCR), Nikola Pavkovic.
Pavkovic said the large three-kilogramme African rats will first have to undergo a period of adjustment to south-eastern Europe's climate and environment.
The demining rats have already been used successfully in Mozambique in a project funded by the Belgian government and the European Union. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA