Radioactive Rhino Horns – Can a nuclear deterrent disrupt poaching?

The Background

A team of scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand have launched an initiative to inject the horn of living rhinos with radioactive isotopes that is harmless to both the rhino and potential consumers of illegal horn. Under the ‘Rhisotope Project’ banner, the concept is that the radioactive isotopes will be identified by already installed global nuclear detection systems at international ports. The project states that Radioactively treated horns are more likely to be detected at international borders, making it more likely that smuggling syndicates are exposed, prosecuted and convicted under anti-terrorism laws.

Our View

Any new and innovative way to combat the scourge of rhino poaching that threatens the future existence of rhino on our planet must be commended. The Rhisotope Project is looking at science and attempting to find a new way of tackling the daily threat of poachers, and this ‘out of the box’ thinking is what will keep us one step ahead of the criminal syndicates running the illegal wildlife trade syndicates.

We do however have some concerns over how successful the Rhisotope Project will be in protecting all rhinos and preventing the daily loss of rhinos to poachers:

1. This won’t stop the killing
   The Poachers won’t care whether a horn has been injected with radioactive isotopes. There is no threat to the individual carrying out the poaching and they will still claim their ‘fee’ for delivering horn to the syndicates.
2. Better detection rate at ports, but there are gaps
   The success of the project relies on already installed nuclear detection systems at international ports to detect the radioactive isotopes. This is likely to result in more apprehensions of horn smugglers, but it relies on horn being smuggled through ports that have nuclear detection systems in place. While these ports may well see the most rhino horn traffic today, there are many smaller ports that are not equipped with the state of the art technology and it is possible, if not likely, that rhino poaching syndicates will look to move their operations to these smaller ports.
3. Treating all rhino will be costly and timely.
   The Rhisotope Project states that it costs $1,400 to treat a rhino and that the treatment will last for 5 years. To roll out this initiative to all rhino in southern Africa will therefore cost in excess of $20,000,000 and this will need to be repeated on a minimum 5 year cycle. It will also take time to roll out, meaning that if the presence of radioactive treated horn is a deterrent, it will leave non treated rhino at higher risk.

Addressing the Root Cause

As stated above, any new and innovative approach to deter the rhino poachers is to be commended, but we must also continue to address to root causes that allow the rhino poaching syndicates to kill more than one rhino per day in South Africa alone. Helping Rhinos’ belief is that this must remain the number one priority for rhino conservation. The root causes driving rhino poaching are twofold:

1. Driving Social Change both in Africa and Asia
   We must continue to understand why people are driven to poach (poverty, greed, pressure from criminal syndicates) and why people are driven to buy rhino horn (cultural beliefs, status symbols).
   Addressing the socioeconomic imbalance that is driving the rhino horn trade is key to successful, long term rhino conservation and will continue to be a top priority in the work of Helping Rhinos.
2. Eliminating Corruption
   Unfortunately corruption on both sides of the rhino horn trade is what allows the illegal activities to thrive.On the Ground
   Rooting out corruption within the Ranger Corps is crucial if we are to stop the daily killing. The vast majority of Rangers do an amazing job protecting rhino (and all wildlife) in a very difficult and often hostile environment, however it is widely known that the criminal syndicates have infiltrated some key areas of the Ranger Corp. Providing a focus on identifying and removing these compromised individuals is essential if we are to keep our rhino safe. We continue to urge the authorities to work with Management teams on the ground to eliminate all corruption from the top down.At The Ports
   We have seen many instances of corruption at the ports, where known rhino horn traffickers have been ‘waved through’ ports in both Africa and Asia. Unless these compromised individuals are removed the success of any horn detection process will be compromised.

   At Government Level
   There have been numerous documented instances of corruption at the highest level of authority in both Africa and Asia. Until this level of corruption is addressed and removed, enforceable legislation will be virtually impossible to achieve. Helping Rhinos is encouraged by recent statements from the new South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and The Environment, Dr Dion George, on the ‘Rhino Renaissance’ initiative which the Government states is a focused and coordinated national response.

In Summary

Helping Rhinos is supportive of initiatives that aim to reduce the number of rhino poached daily across Africa and believe that these initiatives must tackle the root causes and drivers of rhino poaching. We remain fully focussed on our approach to create Rhino Strongholds – expanding wild spaces for wildlife that simultaneously contribute to socioeconomic stability within local communities in key locations that we believe are critical for the future of rhino on our planet. We will continue to work with our Leadership teams on the ground to address the key threats to rhino and to ensure the safety of a species that is critical to sustaining a healthy ecosystem that is rich in biodiversity.