"1) Rats have short legs and can only be used in a smooth, obstruction free area. 2) Rats cannot be trained to move in a search pattern. 3) Rats have the capa

"1) Rats have short legs and can only be used in a smooth, obstruction free area. 2) Rats cannot be trained to move in a search pattern. 3) Rats have the capacity to detect explosive residue and can apparently be encouraged to do so with food rewards... 4) ...but there is no evidence that rats can respond to explosive residue in a hazardous area reliably. 5) There is no evidence that the method of deployment results in a thorough search of the area. 6) The speed of search sometimes claimed would make thorough search (tiny nose within 10 cms of target) physically impossible. 7) The cost of preparing the area where they are used, then dragging the rat back and forth over it has to be added to training and housing the rats. 8) While a rat may indicate on a hazard, it cannot expose and clear it. The cost of manually excavating and clearing any explosive hazard that the rat signals on must also be added to the total cost of clearance. 9) The ground has to be scalped for them to be dragged across it in a straight line, then safe-lanes for the handlers manually searched and cleared – so the total cost of using the rats includes the cost of an armoured vegetation cutter and a fully equipped demining team to prepare the area in which the rat will search. 10) There is absolutely no evidence that the cost is less than the cost of demining the area using the same assets but without rats. 11) Because the rat cannot be trained to search and indicate in a set way (which a dog can be reliably trained to do) there is no way for a Quality Assurance observer to know whether the rat is paying attention, so no way of knowing whether the rat has done anything of any value at all. " Ok, I only skimmed the article, but it sounded a bit forced. And already point 1 in the summary makes me sceptic, because rats can climb pretty well as far as I know. (Otherwise I am no expert, either) "5. There is no evidence that the method of deployment results in a thorough search of the area." This would be my main question here.