The Anti-Poaching Plan: Radioactive Material in Rhino Horns. Here's Why
These are unstable isotopes that, even at low levels, can be detected by detectors at airports and borders.
(LaPresse) South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand , together with nuclear energy officials and environmentalists, has launched a campaign against poaching. The project involves injecting rhino horns with radioactive isotopes . These are unstable isotopes that, even at low levels, can be detected by detectors at airports and borders , leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers. Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand have stated that the radioactive material is not harmful to the animals, as confirmed by tests . The International Union for Conservation of Nature, meanwhile, estimates that the global rhino population at the beginning of the 20th century was around 500,000, but that it has now fallen to around 27,000 due to the continued demand for rhino horn on the black market. South Africa has a population of 16,000 rhinos but, unfortunately, experiences intense poaching activity with around 500 rhinos killed every year.
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