Share
LONDON — A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia.

Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years, according to the charity.
First known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA started as a free veterinary clinic in 1917 and has heroic animals since 1943.
Magawa was trained by a Belgian organization that has taught rats to find landmines for more than 20 years. The group, APOPO, works with programs in Cambodia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts.
Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields.
APOPO chief executive Christophe Cox described Magawa’s medal as a huge honor “for our animal trainers.’’
More Than 60 Million People in 59 Countries Continue to Be Threatened by Landmines and Unexploded Ordinance
“But also it is big for the people in Cambodia, and all the people around the world who are suffering from landmines,’’ Cox said. “The PDSA Gold Medal award brings the problem of landmines to global attention.”
More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by landmines and unexploded ordinance, according to APOPO. In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says.
While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that giant African pouched rats were best suited to landmine clearance because of their African origins and lifespan of up to eight years.

Their size allows the rats to walk across mine fields without triggering the explosives – and do it much more quickly than people.
The PDSA’s Gold Medal has been awarded since 2002 to recognize bravery and acts of exceptional devotion by animals in civilian service. It is considered the animal equivalent of the George Cross, a decoration for heroism.
Before Magawa, all the recipients were dogs.
PDSA also awards the Dickin Medal for military service. The medal has been awarded to 34 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat since it was created in 1943.
Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft
8 hours ago
Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day
9 hours ago
Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up
10 hours ago
Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion
10 hours ago
Fresno Police Arrest 17 in Domestic Violence Crackdown
11 hours ago
Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41
5 hours ago
Categories

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

Selma Mayor Charged With Electioneering Violation on Election Day

Stocks Rise With Tech-Related Shares, Notch Weekly Gains; Dollar Up

Wired Wednesday: What’s the Future of Fresno Unified and the Superintendent Position?

Zakaria Draws Parallels Between Trump’s Tariffs, Failed 1930s Economic Policies
