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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 14th August 2015
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'Sniffer rats' join Dutch police force
rat
One of the rats, Derrick, is 98.8 per cent accurate in all cases. (stock photo)
Rat team can detect drugs and gunpowder
 
An elite group of rats named after well-known fictional detectives have been trained to sniff out drugs and gunpowder - with around 95 per cent accuracy.

Dutch police are training the sniffer rats in order to help save money, ABC reports. Gunshots leave behind a residue that until now could only be detected in a laboratory - a far more costly process that can take at least two hours.

Rat trainer Monique Hamerslag told ABC: "Rats can do the same thing in seconds."

The formidable five have been named Magnum, Poirot, Derrick (after a the protagonist of a popular German TV show) and Thompson and Thompson (from The Adventures of Tin Tin).

They are being trained in Rotterdam and Derrick is said to be unbeatable - achieving accuracy of 98.8 per cent in all cases.

Hamerslag told ABC the rats will soon be sufficiently skilled to use in criminal investigations.

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

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News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.