Rancher Poisoning Rhinos' Horns to Stop Poaching

The owner of a game reserve in South Africa is planning to poison the horns of his rhinos in a bid to deter their slaughter by poachers who've killed more than 150 this year alone. Ed Hern is hoping that by making the horns deadly to humans when consumed, he can lessen the demand for them. Though the plan has been criticized by some conservationists, Hern says the poison will not harm the rhinos themselves. "The aim would be to kill, or make seriously ill anyone who consumes the horn," he tells Sky News.

"It may seem outrageous, but what's really outrageous is the sight of a dead rhino with its horn sawn off," Hern continues. "If someone in China eats it and gets violently sick, they are not going to buy it again." In China, the rhino's horn is erroneously believed to be an aphrodisiac, and a single horn can fetch more than $70,000 on the black market. Read the full article. (More rhinoceros stories.)