On World Rhino Day on Wednesday,Assamset on fire a large stockpile of over 2,400 rhino horns, which were extracted from naturally or accidentally dead rhinos as well as those confiscated from arrested poachers and stored for over four decades in government treasuries, to stop the illegal trade in rhino horns.
Chief minister Himanta BiswaSarma, who personally supervised the event atBokakhatamid the chanting of Vedic rituals and blowing of conches, said they wanted to prove the common belief that rhino horns have miraculous medicinal properties is a myth. The horns, extracted by poachers after killing the animals, have a huge illegal market in several countries, especially Vietnam, where they are prized for their aphrodisiac qualities and command a high price.
Selling these horns would propagate the myth that rhino horns have medicinal values, which the wants to bust. As trade in human organs cannot be allowed, the state government is also committed towards not encouraging trade in wildlife animal parts, the chief minister added.
Acting on a cabinet decision,
2,479 horns were consigned to the flame. About 94 horns will be showcased in a museum to be set up at the Kaziranga
National Park, while 29 will be kept for court cases.
Sarma added that the government has taken a zero-Tolerance policy towards poaching of wildlife. The one-horned rhinoceros Population in Assam has increased from 1,672 in 1999 to 2,652 as per the 2018 census, which has contributed to the greater one-horned rhino moving up the conservation ladder from the Endangered to the Vulnerable tag under the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
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