Rhino horns poisoned and painted PINK to keep poachers away in revolutionary scheme in South Africa Dinokeng Game Reserve takes drastic action to combat poachers At least 200 rhinos have been poached so far this year in South Africa A South African game reserve has taken the radical step of poisoning rhino horns so that people risk getting ill if they consume them. The Dinokeng Game Reserve in Gauteng said it had injected a mix of parasiticides and indelible pink dye to keep rhino poachers at bay. Not a single rhino has been poached in the Dinokeng nature reserve since its gates opened in September 2011. These incredible images show the drastic lengths veterinarians are willing to go to protect rhinos from poachers, by dyeing their horns pink Veterinarians from Wildlife Assignments International and the Dinokeng Game Reserve in Pretoria, South Africa, are injecting the animals' horns with pink dye and parasitic poison in order to deter their predators The dye can be detected by airport scanners as well as when the horn is ground into a powder But elsewhere more than 200 rhinos have been poached so far this year in South Africa, driven by demand in the far east, where horn ground into powder is seen as a delicacy or traditional medicine. 'The dye is a pink dye, the same as used for banknotes, and it's to make the rhino horn identifiable,' said Adri van der Veer, Dinokeng Landowners chairman. The technique was developed by Dr Charles van Niekerk, a veterinarian and a Dinokeng landowner. As an additional safety measure, a microchip will also be planted in the horn of the animal in order to keep track of its movements. Sabi Sand said it had injected a mix of parasiticides and indelible pink dye into more than 100 rhinos' horns over the past 18 months A pupil from St Camillus Catholic Primary School, Amogalang Morudu touches a rhino at Dinokeng Game Reserve in Pretoria, South Africa The 'toxification' process involves tranquilising a rhino, drilling a hole in its horn then injecting the dye and parasiticides 'The people that are doing the operation for us today have done it to more than 200 rhinos the past few years, and none of those rhinos have been poached,' Van der Veer said. The programme however, does not come cheap, but authorities are so confident they will attract more sponsors for the project, that they are already looking to expand the reserve with 40 thousand hectares in the next year. While Dinokeng nature reserve management refuses to say how many rhino there are in the park, this is the first place in Gauteng province where the big 5 can roam freely. The government said in April that 203 rhinos have been killed by poachers so far this year, including 145 in Kruger park Target: Despite all the interventions by police, the body count has continued to climb Protected: A rhino bull on June 2 at Dinokeng Game Reserve in Pretoria, South Africa The 'toxification' process involves tranquilising a rhino, drilling a hole in its horn then injecting the dye and parasiticides. The substance is normally used to control ticks on animals such as horses, cattle and sheep and it is toxic to humans. Anyone who consumes it risks suffering nausea, stomach ache and diarrhoea. The dye can be detected by airport scanners as well as when the horn is ground into a powder. South Africa National Parks has backed the initiative but spokesman Ike Phaahla admitted that it would be 'virtually impossible' to apply the process to all the rhinos in national parks because of lack of resources. The government said in April that 203 rhinos have been killed by poachers so far this year, including 145 in Kruger park. Sixty suspected poachers have been arrested. Drastic action: A rhino is injected with poison to save the species from poachers