Can the highly developed sense of smell of rats help to clear this scourge?
We rattled along the potholed dirt road, a thick plume of red earth spraying out behind us. Four hours from the Mozambican capital, Maputo, we arrived in the small, dusty town of Chokwe. The reality of where I was going was only just sinking in. We were headed for the largest remaining minefield in Mozambique. We were travelling with Apopo, a social enterprise that has come up with a unique way of clearing mines – rats. Hero Rats Drawing on the rats’ remarkable sense of smell, Apopo have found a way to train them to sniff out the TNT in mines. We’d already see them being trained in Tanzania. Now it was time to see them at work in Mozambique. One of the biggest hindrances to development in rural Mozambique is the presence, or even just the suspected presence, of a mine. MINES Countries affected by landmines – 70 Annual number of casualties caused by landmines (2008) – 5,200 Countries producing or able to produce landmines – 13 Source: Land Mine Monitor Annual Report 2009 This was the le
