South African scientists on Tuesday injected live kerosene horns with radioactive material to make them easier to detect at border posts in an initiative aimed at preventing poaching. This country is home to the majority of woodpeckers in the world and the most poached point for Asian demand, and the horns are used in traditional medicine for their therapeutic effects.
A series of thick-skinned plants growing in the low savanna at the Limpopo Brick Children’s Home in the Waterberg region of the country’s north-east.
James Larkin, head of the department of radiation and health physics at the University of the Witwatersrand, who is leading the initiative, told AFP that he injected a radioisotope into one of the horns of a large animal, placing “two small radioactive chips inside the horn”.
The radioactive material “will render the skin useless … toxic for human consumption,” added Nithaya Chetty, professor and dean at the same university.
According to Larkin, the ash sleeps and falls and does not feel pain. The dose of radioactive material is so low that it does not affect the health of animals or the environment, he said.
In February, the environment ministry said 499 large mammals were killed in 2023, mostly in national parks, despite government efforts to crack down on the illegal trade. This represents an 11 percent increase from 2022.
A total of 20 keros are part of the Rhizotope project, which will give them a strong dose to detect detectors installed around the world at international border posts that were originally created to “prevent nuclear terrorism,” he said, wearing a hat and a green shirt.
In addition to the thousands of radiation detectors often installed at ports and airports, the Border Patrol has handheld radiation detectors that can detect contraband, the researchers said. Rhino horns are highly sought after on the black market, where they are worth their weight in gold and cocaine.
According to Arrie Van Deventer, the founder of House of Elephants, the deer’s hatred and antler poisoning do not stop poachers.
“Maybe this is the thing that will stop poaching,” said the tall and slender conservationist. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard.”
Wildebeest, crows, and giraffes roamed the vast protected area as more than a dozen team members carried out the delicate process on another brick.
Larkin drilled a small hole into the horn, exposed it to radioisotopes, and then sprayed 11,000 microdots all over the horn. The International Rhino Foundation estimates that there are approximately 15,000 rhinos living in the southern African country.
The final phase of the project will care for the animals in “correct scientific and ethical protocols,” he said.
The team then took regular blood samples to ensure the bricks were effectively protected. The material will last five years on the horn, which is cheaper than replacing it every 18 months, Larkin said.
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