Radioactive Substance in the Fight Against Rhino Smuggling
South Africa's wildlife protectors are stepping up their game.
In the fight against chronic rhino poaching, they are now turning to mildly radioactive substances.
In the international «Project Rhisotope», experts from several countries are working together. They want to inject a mildly radioactive substance into the animals' horns in order to track down and deter smugglers.As soon as the horns pass through customs at an airport or port, detection devices would sound the alarm. The researchers hope this will lead to a sharp drop in smuggling.
At a wildlife farm in the Eastern Cape province, James Larkin from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg injected a prepared amino acid into the horns of the animals in mid-May — initially a non-radioactive version containing special isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. The researchers first want to analyze whether and how the amino acid is distributed.Later, mildly radioactive isotopes are to be used, which can easily be detected from the outside using measuring devices.
«It is a very unusual approach: we are trying to reduce the value of the horn while at the same time making smuggling more difficult», says the head of the Department of Radiation and Health Medicine. A tiny dose of the amino acid, no larger than the tip of a ballpoint pen, injected into the horn would be sufficient. «The dose is small enough not to harm the animal's organism — we first want to check whether the dose also remains within the horn», explains Larkin. In addition, the two rhinos used in the test — the bulls «Igor» and «Denver» — will be monitored for risks and health issues over the coming months.
«We intend to present a viable concept by September — most likely on World Rhino Day», says Larkin. «That is 22 September— I remember the date because it is my birthday», the scientist laughs.Should the innovative concept prove viable, it is to be offered to both state and private rhino owners across the continent..
Not everyone is enthusiastic
However, the project does not immediately inspire enthusiasm among all animal welfare advocates. The French environmental organization Robin des Bois sees it primarily as an attempt by its most important supporter, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, to expand its influence in Africa. Scientists from Australia, the United States, and Russia are involved in the project initiated by Larkin.
The organization Pro Wildlife takes a similarly critical view of the project. "Years ago, there were already attempts and announcements to render rhino horn worthless or unpalatable through dye or even poison — efforts that were unsuccessful and failed to stop poaching", says spokesperson Daniela Freyer, adding: "Radioactivity (even if low-level) is even more concerning from a health and conservation perspective than these earlier, failed attempts.»
The number of rhinos killed by poachers in South Africa did fall by one third in 2020, a year marked by COVID-19 restrictions — yet nearly 400 of these thick-skinned animals still lost their lives because of their horns.South Africa is home to around 90 percent of the world's rhino population. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of rhinos poached there is estimated at a total of over 9,600 animals.
Just at the end of May, two rhinos in Namibia's Ghaub Nature Reserve were killed for their horns — one of the brutally poached animals had been raised as an orphan after its mother had also been killed for her horn. Princess Charlène of Monaco, who grew up in South Africa, recently visited her homeland and was briefed on the fight against poaching. She too expressed concern that poaching poses a serious threat to the rhino population.
While trade in rhino horns is banned, it remains a multimillion-dollar business according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):According to an estimate by UN experts in the "World Wildlife Crime Report", this trade generates annual profits of around 230 million US dollars.
In Asia, particularly in Vietnam and China, horn is prized in traditional medicine and costs roughly as much as gold. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are still around 20,000 white rhinos and approximately 5,600 of the critically endangered black rhinos left in Africa.
