[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS: Rats trained to detect land mines

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[I don't know how real this story is, but I couldn't pass it up. But  
I don't want to hear any comparisons of EOD Techs to giant rodents. -  
LS]


An Army of Giant Rats Unearths Peace in Africa

John Converse Townsend
Huffington Post
December 6, 2011


It takes a true visionary to see a Buddhist monk deploying a pack of  
giant rats as the solution to the devastating danger posed by landmines.

Every few hours, another person is killed or maimed by a landmine.  
Even in areas removed from active conflict, landmines are more than  
just distressing reminders of former bloodshed -- they're hidden  
hazards that terrorize populations and freeze development.

Identifying, unearthing and disarming these explosives is dangerous  
and daunting. Despite record clearances, more countries deployed anti- 
personnel mines last year than in any year since 2004.

But one social innovator has risen to the challenge -- with the help  
of a few hundred friends. The innovator is the industrial engineer,  
Buddhist monk and Ashoka Fellow Bart Weetjens.

His hundreds of friends are sub-Saharan Africa's giant pouched rats.  
About three feet long and armed with a powerful sense of smell, these  
rats might just be humanity's best hope for moving forward with  
confidence.
 ...

For the entire article, see
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-converse-townsend/an-army-of-giant- 
rats-une_b_1129358.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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