Cambodia imports another 10 mine-sniffing dogs

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ten mine-detection dogs were airlifted to Cambodia from Bosnia on Friday, bringing the number of expert dogs in Cambodia to 44, an official said.

Prak Somathy, leader of mine-detection dog project at the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), said the new puppies are part of 18 dogs that the Norwegian People's Aid donated to CMAC for 2015.

He said a mine-sniffing dog costs approximately 36,000 U.S. dollars.

"Those expert dogs will be used to sniff out landmines in four provinces that have been worst affected by landmines," he told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport while receiving the new dogs.

Cambodia has one of the world's highest rates of unexploded munitions. An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and other munitions were left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.

Landmine blasts killed 11 people and injured 55 others in the first six months of 2015, according to the CMAC's latest figures.

In April, Belgian non-governmental organization Apopo imported 15 African giant pouched rats into Cambodia to help detect landmines buried throughout the country's jungles and countryside.

suorce: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=299003

[aussiebrian]

I hope the handlers are also being trained. $36000, is that for the puppies or a fully trained dog?

Prak Somathy, leader of mine-detection dog project at the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), said the new puppies are part of 18 dogs that the Norwegian People's Aid donated to CMAC for 2015.

Maybe mine sniffing bees may be cheaper.

[timmyp]

I heard an interesting story last month about rats being used in Cambodia to sniff out landmines.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/07/31/427112786/in-cambodia-rats-are-being-trained-to-sniff-out-land-mines-and-save-lives

[Acharn]

I heard an interesting story last month about rats being used in Cambodia to sniff out landmines.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/07/31/427112786/in-cambodia-rats-are-being-trained-to-sniff-out-land-mines-and-save-lives

I read about that, too, but I think at a different site. It was in connection with a U.S. court decision that a drug-sniffing dog, who alerted on false positives 48% of the time, was still "reasonable cause" to authorize a search. The article pointed out that a problem with the drug-sniffing and mine-sniffing dogs is that if their handler expects them to alert they detect that and alert to please the handler. The article I read didn't tell much about the rats except to say that they had many advantages, especially in being less likely to false alert in order to please their handler. I'm glad to see some ways are being found to improve mine detection. It's a terribly important job, and very expensive. There's an enormous amount of unexploded ordnance in Laos, too, left over from the civil war that brought the Pathet Lao to power and from U.S. bombing.