APOPO

APOPO () is a registered Belgian non-governmental organisation and US non-profit which trains southern giant pouched rats and technical survey dogs to detect landmines and tuberculosis.APOPO – Who We Are They call their trained animals HeroRATs and HeroDOGs.APOPO – Training HeroRATs

Introduction The HeroRATs and HeroDOGs at APOPO are used for humanitarian tasks, specifically detecting landmines, tuberculosis, and conducting search and rescue. The HeroRATs and HeroDOGs can be used in complementary roles to increase efficiency in the field. The HeroRATs usually work in cleared open areas where they can be easily monitored, while the HeroDOGs can work in areas with thick, overgrown vegetation that are harder for rats to navigate. Both rats and dogs use clicker training, a reward-based system that ensures high motivation by reinforcing successful detection with treats. Throughout their careers and into their retirement, they receive excellent care, veterinary support, and specialized handling to ensure their well-being. This introduction section points out how APOPO uses the unique HeroRATs and HeroDOGs in their program to create a more effective humanitarian toolset.  By using reward-based training and superior guidelines in animal welfare, the program guarantees these animals are both highly motivated to do their jobs and well-cared for during their life-saving work.

History APOPO started as an R&D organization in Belgium in the 1990s, working with the support of research and government grants to develop the concept of Detection Rats Technology. As a pet owner, Bart Weetjens, one of the co-founders, came across an article about gerbils being used as scent detectors. He believed that rats, with their strong sense of smell and ability to be trained, could provide a better means to detect landmines. Weetjens's former university lecturer Prof. Mic Billet, the founder of the Institute for Product Development at Antwerp University, fully supported the idea and made his personal resources available for further investigation and promotion of the new initiative. After consulting with Professor Ron Verhagen, rodent expert at the department of evolutionary biology of the University of Antwerp, the Gambian pouched rat was determined to be the best candidate due to its longevity and African origin.APOPO - History The APOPO project was launched on 1 November 1997 by Bart Weetjens and his former schoolmate Christophe Cox. Both Weetjens and Cox had previously collaborated in a not-for-profit organisation that had been headed by Prof. Mic Billet, and together they started building a kennel facility for the training and breeding of African giant pouched rats. They contacted the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania, and placed an order for the import of Gambian pouched rats.

Initial financial support came in 1997 from Belgian government foreign development aid funds. In 2000 it moved its training and headquarters to SUA, partnering with the Tanzanian People's Defence Force.

In 2003 APOPO was awarded a grant from the World Bank, which provided seed funding to research another application of the rats: tuberculosis (TB) detection at SUA. Weetjens got a three-year personal grant from Ashoka: Innovators for the Public in 2007. A TB detection program in Tanzania was launched in mid-2007 as a partnership with four government clinics. In 2008 proof of principle was provided in using trained rats to detect pulmonary tuberculosis in human sputum samples. In 2010 a research plan to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of the rats in diagnosing tuberculosis was started. The same year APOPO developed an automated training cage in order to remove human bias. The rats' response is measured by optical sensors and the cage produces an automated click sound with food delivery.

In 2010, APOPO developed an automated training cage to make learning faster for the rats. This training cage uses optical sensors to track the rat's movements and measure how they respond to certain scents. By using an automated click sound and food reward, the cage removes human bias from the training process, which helps the rats learn scent detection more precisely . By 2017, they opened a visitor center in Cambodia to show the public how the HeroRats work and train in their training cages.

Following results in Tanzania, the TB detection program was replicated in 2013 at a clinic in Maputo, Mozambique, at the veterinary department of the Eduardo Mondlane University. In 2014, in partnership with the Central Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, the National Institute of Medical Research and the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, a study undertaken to determine the accuracy of the rats in a population of presumptive TB patients. In 2014 five additional health centres joined the TB detection programme in Maputo. In 2016 APOPO covered almost 100% of all the suspect TB patients who go to clinics in the city, and the TB detection program in Tanzania had expanded to 28 clinics in three areas and processed around 800 samples per week.

After the first 11 rats were given accreditation according to International Mine Action Standards in 2004, beginning in 2006 machinery for ground preparation, manual deminers and the rats assisted with detection in long-running mine clearance operations in Mozambique. Tasked in 2008 as the sole operator to clear Gaza Province, the province was mine-free in 2012, one year ahead of schedule. In 2013 the government allowed APOPO to expand its operations in Maputo, Manica, Sofaka and Tete provinces. Mozambique was officially declared free of all landmines on 17 September 2015. APOPO assisted the government with clearing five provinces. Sixteen rats were maintained in the country at the request of the government in order to carry out residual (mop-up) tasks.

In Angola APOPO has worked for Norwegian People's Aid since 2012. From 2013 to 2015 up to 31 rats assisted demining by heavy machinery and people with metal detectors at two sites, Ngola-Luije in Malanje and in Malele in Zaire Province, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. 49 hectares were cleared. The Malele site was cleared one year in advance. In 2016 rats assisted clearance at a site in Ndondele Mpasi, Zaire province.

In early 2014 the national Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) started demining a site, with the help of Norwegian Peoples Aid, using conventional mine clearance methods. Following a six-month acclimatization and training period, 14 out of the 16 rats were accredited by CMAC in November 2015 to be used in mine clearance operations. Two Cambodian handlers spent six months in the training centre in Tanzania. By June 2016 the first minefield was cleared. In 2017 a visitor centre was opened in Siem Reap. In 2018, reports showed major progress in both clearing mines and finding tuberculosis cases in the field. This proves the program works in real-life situations, not just in a research lab.(APOPO, 2018)

Organization APOPO operational headquarters, including the training and research centers, are based at the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania. APOPO’s mine action teams have operated in eight countries affected by the legacy of conflict and are currently active in Angola, Cambodia and Mozambique. The TB programmes are operational in Tanzania and Mozambique, with offices based in Morogoro, Dar es Salaam and Maputo. It has also two fundraising offices in Switzerland and in the United States, and an administrative support office in Antwerp (Belgium).

An APOPO foundation was established in Geneva in 2015 to support APOPO's global activities with financial resources, networking among mine clearance and tuberculosis stakeholders, and increasing visibility. An office was set up in the United States to better access important institutional donors and public funding. The U.S. office was registered as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization in 2015, which enables public and corporation donations to be tax deductible. In 2014 APOPO set up a TB Scientific Advisory Committee to provide credibility. APOPO also has a research and development centre.

As of May 2024, APOPO employs over 450 staff in local operations and internationally, and has 279 rats and 79 dogs in various stages of breeding, detection training, research, or operations.

HeroRATS species profile APOPO chooses to use the Gambian pouched rat for many reasons. They act as a highly effective "biosensor." A biosensor is a living thing used to detect chemicals or physical changes. While man-made machines usually have a hard time with technical difficulties or high price costs, these rats offer a more effective solution as they rely on higher accuracy and the use of biological senses that do not require external power or expensive maintenance. According to research, these rats are often more effective than man-made machines for several reasons.

Biological Advantage

This species of rats has very poor eyesight, so they rely on their sense of smell and hearing, which has naturally evolved to find items hidden underground. This makes them better than traditional metal detectors, which often get thrown off by pieces of irrelevant scrap metal. These rats focus only on the scent they were trained to find.To ensure these "biosensors" are reliable, all rats are bred and managed by APOPO at the Morogoro breeding and training centre in Tanzania. This in-house breeding allows the team to begin socialization as early as five weeks old, making the rats comfortable working around their human handlers.(APOPO, n.d.)

Speed and Efficiency

These rats can clear land faster than other methods. They are the world’s largest rats, their bodies measure 20–35 inches in total length, including a long, nearly hairless tail. Despite being the largest rats though, their relatively small size and weight in comparison to other clearing methods allows them to clear land with a much lower chance of setting off landmines. These nocturnal rodents are highly active, and because they are slim and fast, they provide a cheaper and more productive way to clear landmines in the real world.

Learning Ability

These rats are capable of complex learning. They can be trained to recognize many different scents, from the bacteria in tuberculosis to illegal wildlife parts. Their ability to generalize their thoughts, such as applying what they learned in a lab to a new environment, is a key reason they are successful in the field.

Resilience

Unlike some other animals, these rats are very hardy and can work in difficult tropical climates for many years, making them a long-term solution for humanitarian work.

HeroDOGS species profile APOPO uses Belgian Shepherds (Malinois) and Dutch Shepherds as their HeroDOGS (Technical Survey Dogs) as part of their landmine detection team. These dogs do not replace the HeroRATS, instead, they work in a complementary role to the HeroRATS and speed up the process of returning safe land to communities, along with doing different tasks as well.

Biological Advantage

Like the rats, HeroDOGS are trained to find the specific scent of explosives such as TNT. This prevents them from being slowed down by distractions like scrap metal, which often confuses traditional metal detectors. By using their natural senses, these dogs can quickly confirm which areas are dangerous and which are safe for people to use again.

Speed and Efficiency

The primary job of HeroDOGS is to perform large-scale scans of land to see if explosives are there. Because they are larger and faster than the HeroRATs, a single dog can clear thousands of square meters in one day. This makes them a much more efficient option for clearing land in the real world than traditional man-made tools.

Learning Ability