[clarionbell]

Pretty much. Furthermore, investment is much smaller, upkeep much lower, transportation easier. And since rats live faster, and shorter, lives, you can get new batch of mine detector rats sooner than you would with dogs. Even under optimal conditions.

This means that if something bad happens, say death of multiple animals due to disease or unfortunate accident. The replacement can arrive much sooner.

The downside is that you have to replace them much more often. But the positives outweigh negatives.