Rhino Horns Injected With Radioactive Material To Prevent Poaching In South Africa
Scientists in South Africa injected radioactive material into live rhino horns to curb poaching at border posts. The country is home to a large population of rhinos and is a hotspot for poaching for the demands of horns from the Asian market for the supposed therapeutic purpose. The Rhino horns are highly sought after in the black market that rivals gold and cocaine.
The initiative was taken by James Larking, director of the University of Witwatersrand’s radiation and health physics unit who put ‘two tiny radioactive chips in the horn’. Under this pilot project known as Rhisotope, a total of 20 live rhinos will be administered a small dose that is strong enough to set off detectors installed globally at international border posts, originally installed to prevent nuclear terrorism.
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One of the professors said that the radioactive material would make the horn useless, even poisonous for human consumption. The rhino was put to sleep and crouched on the ground for the injection at the Limpopo rhino orphanage in Waterberg in the northeast part of South Africa. A small hole was drilled in the horn, hammered in the radioisotope, then finished off by spraying 11,000 microdots all over the horn.
As per Larking, the treatment was painless and would not impact the animal’s health or the environment in any way. Under the last phase, animals will be taken care of following proper scientific and ethical protocol.
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Larkin said that the radioactive material would last five years on the horn and is cheaper than dehorning every 18 months.
As per the environment ministry, in 2023, 499 rhinoceros were killed despite the government’s effort to tackle the illicit trade. This is 11 percent higher than the 2022 numbers. According to the International Rhino Foundation, nearly 15,000 rhinos live in Southern African nations.
