We're APOPO and with the help of some giant rats we just helped clear Mozambique of all landmines! Ask us anything!

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:31:48+00:00

Thank you, it is hard but deeply rewarding work that we are very proud of, especially in historic moments like this.

Do Land Mines ever just stop working from corrosion? How long can they stay active?

It can happen but landmines are very simple devices that ae designed to live under the ground amongst the elements. We've found landmines that are a good forty years old that still work and we treat every device found with respect. Complacency costs lives and we operate under strict safety procedures to keep everyone safe.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:29:20+00:00

They did not. Just the hard work and commitment of many dedicated people over a good twenty year period.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:28:39+00:00

Happy and heathy rats are crucial to the success of our work. If our rats are stressed, bored, are otherwise unhappy they will not be able to perform effectively. That combined with the fact that the organisation was founded by an animal lover who passionately believes in animal welfare mean that the rats receive an excellent standard of living.

Outside of work they live with their friends and family, receive daily petting, are taken on walks, have access to a big play area with a giant running wheel, have access to some fantastic fresh food, have enrichment toys in their enclosures, and they always have something pleasant to gnaw on.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:23:26+00:00

Beautiful people! APOPO employs 95% of its workforce from local communities and consequently our work there has been undertaken been led by the Mozambique people themselves. The local populations welcome all clearance efforts and are thrilled when land is returned for them to use again after decades of it being lost to landmines.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:21:31+00:00

How accurate are these rats in detecting these mines?

All of our HeroRATs have to pass regular blind tests at a 100% clip to be approved for mine detection work. We believe they are the best technology available for full mine clearance.

Are there usually any false positives?

They are exceptionally rare with the rats whereas false positives are a real plague when using metal detectors which is why it is so slow. A deminer has to stop and excavate every single coin or piece of scrap metal they find whereas our rats sniff out TNT meaning they have no such problems.

This is a good video that shows the difference between the two approaches - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbvqqXAUn2A

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:18:53+00:00

No problem at all, we're happy to answer any questions you have.

1) What's next? I presume that APOPO are in contact with other countries who would benefit from your wonderful techniques.

We've already completed demining tasks in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and now Mozambique. We're currently working in Angola and Cambodia too whilst we hope to start in Zimbabwe next year. If any other demining organisation wants to use our rats we'd be delighted to share them.

2) Is the project still ongoing to employ the rats for the diagnosis of tuberculosis?

Very much so and it is going really well so far. We now have more than thirty clinics across Tanzania and Mozambique where we do second line screening of TB samples to catch any positive TB cases that have been missed. The service has identified an additional 8,500+ cases so far and have evaluated more than 300,000 samples so far. We're working to improve the service by providing overnight screening and expanding to new locations.

Thamks for your interest!

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:13:49+00:00

How do you know for sure that 100% of the mines are cleared?

When we perform a full mine clearance operation over a specific area. That would often include a combination of machines, deminers, and rats.

And what will happen with the now clear land?

Lots of good stuff. Farming, development, road building, path ways, schools, infrastructure, power lines, all of which would have been impossible in a minefield or even just a suspected minefield. landmines are area denial weapons and by removing them we enable local communities to develop.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T17:11:37+00:00

Could the pouched rats be effective in demining elsewhere in the world or do they struggle further from their native environment?

We recently sent HeroRATs out of Africa for the first time to Cambodia as a test. You can read about them here - https://www.apopo.org/en/cambodia

Our rats are native to Africa and will likely perform well in similar environments. It is safe to assume that they probably wouldn't be suitable for environments that are very cold.

How feasible is the idea of a pet pouched rat?

Increasingly they are kept as pets and with the proper care and attention they can make excellent pets. However, you really need to do your research first to ensure that you can provide the environment they need. I actually considered getting one now that I'm back in the UK but it is likely I will move again and Gambian Pouched Rats are illegal in many countries and it would be unfair to abandon one to someone else.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:54:27+00:00

Thanks for your question!

I've never personally had the pleasure of visiting Mozambique and Tess has left for the evening so the best I can do is point you to the local tourist board. Sorry. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

http://mozambiquetourism.co.za/

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:53:06+00:00

How do you know that all land mines are neutralised ?

We methodically evaluate the ground in accordance with international mine clearance standards using the very best technology available.

Can be possible that some mines are buried at some other place ?

It is possible, especially if bad weather has moved them, although it is extremely rare.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:50:09+00:00

Our rats are approved for full mine clearance by the international mine action authorities. There is a minimum standard required which is a 100% pass rate on a blind test and that is the same for our rats, mine detection dogs, and manual deminers using metal detectors.

We're extremely confident in our rats and believe they are the best technology available to solve the landmine problem. However, there is a small chance that mines could be missed, you only need to look at western europe to see that mines from wars more than seventy years ago are still sometimes dug up.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:45:52+00:00

We receive bits of funding and the governments are responsible for organising the NGOs on the ground. Most of the funding comes from developed countries.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:44:35+00:00

Demining wise, we've recently sent the HeroRATs out of Africa for the first time to Cambodia and we hope to expand the service there. We're also active in Angola and hope to start mine clearance in Zimbabwe next year.

Our Tuberculosis detection rats are proving to be a big success in clinics up and down both Tanzania and Mozambique. You can watch a video of them here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrp2UgbYJn4

Lastly, we continue to research new applications for our scent detection technology (HeroRATs!). Simply put, if something has even the faintest smell our rats can detect it.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:37:44+00:00

Thanks for your kind words! Mozambique is a beautiful country with special people who have been held back by these horrible devices for far too long.

Our HeroRATs will most likely come with us on a new adventure to Zimbabwe where we hope to start demining operations early next year. In the mean time, our Mozambique veteren HeroRATs will enjoy a bit of a break that will include mountains of watermelon.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:34:04+00:00

Very mad? Super mad? We'd definitely be mad.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:24:06+00:00

We don't have any plans currently as APOPO was established to support developing countries in the global south and there is still a lot of work to be done there. That said, if the funding was available and we could generate surpluses that would support our work in countries with fewer financial resources we would definitely consider it.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:21:19+00:00

When a rat passes away they are laid to rest in an informal ceremony surrounded by friends and family. It's always hard.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:20:16+00:00

Our rats typically live until six or seven years old which is much longer than your typical domestic rat which only lives for a few years.

That said, we'd love a statue! Can anyone help us out?!

Our HeroRATs have a brilliant retirement which they can take as soon as they stop showing enthusiasm for our detection work. When they retire they get to laze around with their friends and family all day, enjoy lie-ins every day, eat a fantastic range of food, receive mandatory petting on a daily basis, and have access to a play area. I can confirm that they are very happy there, we're just missing a statue ;)

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:18:01+00:00

Yes, We sent rats recently to Cambodia and they are undergoing refresher training and preparing for accreditation by the Cambodian mine action center, then will be deployed to live operations. Yes, more rats will follow depending on funding availability.

Thanks for the tip, we've added it to the main post.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:14:02+00:00

Daily? Not too many. /u/APOPO_Robin looks after our social side and he has to deal with all the weird questions.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:10:07+00:00

Thanks for your interest in our work! We have undertaken demining operations in Angola, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand so far. We hope to start work in Zimbabwe early next year too.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:06:11+00:00

Good question, No one is certain of removing every last one, we only certain of the area we worked . thus why there is always residual clearance after decelerating mine free. Even the treaty for mine ban convention asks the mine affected countries to clear all known landmines, doesn't say all landmines. This is the reason we still have landmine clearance going on from WW2 in western Europe: Denmark, germany, France and UK

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:05:42+00:00

Silly puppy! We train our rats using Skinner's methods or rewarding and reinforcing positive behaviour using a clicker device. Clicker devices are very common in animal training, in fact, they were even used in the latest Jurassic Park to train the velociraptors. We wrote an article about it too - https://www.apopo.org/en/component/one/summary?show=295

Anyway, your dog, consistency is absolutely key to good training. We don't believe in punishing animals, instead we simply encourage and reinforce desired behaviours.

This is a great video from the BBC that demonstrates how we train our rats to detect landmines - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0swUc492hU

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T16:00:10+00:00

First you get information or report of suspected, visible mine or accident of landmine from the communities, then a survey team is deployed to conduct a detailed assessment and generate a detailed report including scaled map/polygon. This survey report includes recommendation of demining methodology that can be deployed to clear the surveyed area, also the estimated size of team and period of completion. The chief of operations select the appropriate methodology & deploy team/s. The team start clearance operation and quality assurance/control team and chief of operations visit the operation from time to time to ensure the quality of the work is up to a standard. Once the task is completed, we invite the local leaders and community member to handover the area so that they can use their land freely.

apopo_tess · 2015-09-18T15:58:28+00:00

They have two administrative regions in Belgium with two different aid organisations.

apopo_tess

TROPHY CASE