Rhino Horns Consign to Flames but Will it Check Poaching?

 

Amidst chanting of rhymes and vedic rituals, the “world’s largest stockpile” of rhino horns was burnt to ashes in Assam. The ceremony was held in a  stadium of Bokakhat, the headquarters of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, a world heritge site, on the occasion of  the World Rhino Day on  September 22. It was aimed at dispelling myths leading to an illegal horn trade and the poaching of the majestic animal.  But the question raised by the environmentalists is , “ Will it check the rhino poaching”?

"A World Record"

A large number of people witnessed the “ world record”  made at the Bokakhat  stadium when 2,479 horns stored in 12 district treasuries since 1979 were burnt in six large iron furnaces  especially designed for the purpose. These were lit remotely through drones . The weight of the horns destroyed was 1,305.25 kg. Before the  horns were consigned to flames, experts had verified the horns using "scientific methods" at the treasuries they were kept in. 

Also read: Big Step Towards Conservation of Kaziranga Rhino

Each horn was cleaned, weighed, photographed, labelled with a unique barcode, packed and sealed again after extraction of DNA samples, officials said. Among those  burnt include 21 fake horns seized from smugglers and traders and 15 African rhino horns brought from the Assam state zoo in Guwahati. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said “the event was organized to convey to the world that rhino horns are just a mass of compacted hair and they have no medicinal value. We urge people not to kill these rare animals or buy their horns based on superstitions or myths”.  He said that  “Rhino horns are burnt in Africa but not so many at a time. I think we have set a world record”.  The state government has also preserved the heaviest of the horns  weighing 3.05 kg for exhibition or educational purposes. Assam will also set up a natural history museum near the national park to showcase the preserved horns. In all  123 horns  including 29  as evidence for court cases 94 others will be preserved . After burning the stockpile . Its  ashes  are being stored to make a life-size rhino to be put up at Mihimukh, the main entrance to the Kaziranga national park

From 75 to 2700, Rhino's Success Story in India

Rhino horns fetch an estimated $ 65,000 per kg and are essentially a mass of compacted hair, made up of Keratin, which also makes up our hair and fingernails. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine  and many other far east countries with a myth  that it cures a variety of ‘ailments’ . Like tiger body parts, it is also used as an aphrodisiac. 

Also read:  Diamond Digging To Destroy Tiger Corridor In Bundelkhand  

The horn is powdered and dissolved in boiling water for consumption, experts said. Assam is home to the largest population of greater one-horned rhinos in India . Of 2657 rhinos, Kaziranga national park counted 2413 , Manas national Park has 43, Orang National Park has 101, and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has 100 rhinos.From a mere population of 75 in 1905 to 2700 by 2012, the rhino conservation effort of India has seen tremendous success over the years. A total of 84 rhino deaths were reported due to poaching in Assam since 2008 while West Bengal witnessed 17 rhino deaths.