First-ever ‘radioactive’ rhino horns could help curb poaching in S.Africa

Views and News with Clarence Ford

South Africa is home to 80% of the world's rhinos, which makes a hotbed of poaching.Reports suggest that Every 20 hours in South Africa, a rhino dies for its horn. According to figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an international conservation body, the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. It now stands at around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market. And now, radioactive material has been inserted into rhino horns, in a world first, to curb poaching. Researchers have injected radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos as part of a research project. Professor James Larkin, who heads the project at the University of the Witwatersrand ‘s Radiation and Health Physics Unit in South Africa joins us on the line now

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