“FUR fingerprints” could one day help stamp out the illegal trade in pelts of endangered species such as ocelots, tigers and fur seals.
At the moment, only expert inspectors can distinguish between the furs of these animals from those that can be traded legally. But a new technique could eventually make identification far quicker and easier, and so help to catch illegal traders.
Developed by Klaus Hollemeyer, an expert in biocatalysis at Saarland University in Germany, the test relies on the combination of amino acids that makes up the protein of a particular animal’s fur. Hollemeyer first treats hair strands…
