Government officials in Kaziranga National Park, Assam, have burnt almost 2,500 rhino horns ceased from poachers in India.
Footage from September 22 shows the thousands of horns on display before they are lit on fire.
Out of the ceased 2,623 greater one-horned rhino horns, 2,479 were burnt, 94 are to be preserved and 29 are to be kept for ongoing court cases.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has this species of rhino listed as "vulnerable" on their Red List.
The Government of Assam has successfully countered poaching of wildlife under a Zero tolerance to
Poaching approach. The several conservation initiatives to protect the Greater One horned Rhinoceros have
earned global accolades as the population grew from 1672 in 1999 to 2652 as per the 2018 census. This has contributed to the Greater One horned Rhino moving up the conservation ladder from ‘Endangered’ to
‘Vulnerable’ tag under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
A historic event for rhino conservation is planned for September 22nd
2021, to consign to flames 2479 horns of the Greater One Horned Rhinoceros. Out of 2623 reconciled horns 94 are to be preserved,
based on size and soundness of architecture and 29 to be kept for ongoing court cases. Among the samples being preserved the longest horn recorded is from Kamrup Treasury while the heaviest is from Nagaon.
Samples for future genetic analysis were extracted from the rhino horns marked for destruction and preservation by drilling.
This act in a State having 71% of world’s population of One Horned Rhinoceros shall send a strong message to poachers that the horn is of no medicinal value and it’s trade is completely illegal Based on pure myths, with no scientific backing, rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Due to demand in some
countries, poaching pressure on rhinos is ever persistent and it is intended that consigning rhino horns to flames will dispel these myths and send a strong message across the world. This is also a best practice to promote wildlife conservation and nowhere in the world has an exercise of such scale been undertaken in
respect of the horns of dead Rhinos.
Prior to selecting the horns for consigning to flames, an elaborate process of reconciliation of rhino horns stored in seven treasuries had been carried out by a committee chaired by the Chief Wildlife Warden,
Assam, with the help of a technical committee and seven respective zonal committees. The exercise was
carried out in presence of civil society members, members from non-governmental organizations, media police and district administration officials. The entire process is as per provision of Section 39(3)(c) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, wherein, a public hearing had also been carried out on 29 August 2021. Assam Cabinet’s decision on September 16th, 21 in this regard is slated to be executed on 22 September 2022, World Rhino Day. Hon’ble Chief Minister’s demonstrative action and resolve is resonating as an exemplary step for wildlife conservation across the world.
