23 Sep 2021

GUWAHATI: On World Rhino Day on Wednesday, Assam set 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 Biswa Sarma, who personally supervised the event at Bokakhat amid 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. 

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