All rhinoceros horns in South Africa are to be microchipped in an attempt to curb the "dramatic" increase in the poaching and illegal trade of rhino horns in the country. Earlier this month a young, hand-reared and tame black rhino was shot and had its horns slashed off for illegal trade. The killing came two days after government announced a halt on the sale of rhinoceros horn. Six-year-old Moêng was the third rhino shot in the Melkrivier area of Limpopo in a period of two weeks. Conservationists fear that poaching may escalate as a result of the decision by the department of energy affairs and tourism to cut down on rhino hunting. One response to the illicit rhino horn trade is the micro-chip project, which will see samples taken from horns of dead rhino stored in registered containers and kept safe for future use in DNA finger printing. This will allow ivory to be tracked and illegal exports or sales detected. The black rhino is listed as endangered and, under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), it is illegal for rhino horns to be sold to overseas buyers. "Only five black rhinos can be hunted each year and only male rhinos that don't contribute in reproduction can be hunted," said Sonja Meintjies, the deputy director of diversity compliance at the department. Moêng's owner, conservationist Clive Walker, said that poaching is a threat to rhinos across the country. South Africa is home to about 1 300 ...
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