Page 25 - GDG Annual Report 2021

Global Development Group 25 Annual Report 2021

Clearing the Land with Some Little Helpers

HeroRat Magawa was awarded the UK’s PDSA
Gold Medal for his life-saving devotion to duty.

Landmines and UXOs are a legacy of war in Cambodia; an handlers and manual human detectors, a total of 6,838,915 m2
estimated 6 million land mines remain embedded in the or 960 football fields has been cleared.
country. With the help of highly trained HeroRats and HeroDogs,
Now 7 years old, Magawa is slowing down and will retire in 2021,
the team from APOPO are returning farmland safely to
but a new cohort of young HeroRats arrived in May, ready to
communities. Capable of searching a tennis-court sized field
continue this important work saving lives, limbs, and restoring
in just 20 minutes, an area that would take 1-4 days of metal
the land in Cambodia.
detecting by a human alone, the rats are small and light enough
that they don’t trigger land mines but scratch the ground to alert
their human handlers when they smell explosives.
Global Development Group have partnered with APOPO
since 2017 for project J932N Landmine Clearing HeroRats,
matching the 5-year career of Magawa the HeroRat. During his
career, Magawa has sniffed out 71 landmines and dozens more
unexploded items. In September, Magawa was awarded the UK’s
PDSA Gold Medal, akin to the George Cross for animals, for his
life-saving devotion to duty.
In the past 12 months, the J932N project has contributed to
APOPO’s work in Siem Reap, Battambang and Preah Vihear
provinces. Initially surveyed by SMART Technical Survey Dogs,
followed by Mine Detection Rats and supported by human