Assam Creates History, Burns 2,479 Rare Rhino Horns On World Rhino Day

Assam made history on Wednesday by burning nearly 2,500 rhino horns in one of the largest anti-poaching drives of its kind in Asia. Following Vedic rituals in a public ceremony, the rhino horns were burned in upper Assam's Bokakhat to mark World Rhino Day.

A total of 2,623 horns belonging to the one-horned rhino -- also considered the state animal -- were stored in treasuries across Assam. The state's treasuries housed horns that either had been extracted from rhinos that had died of natural causes and accidents or had been seized from poachers.

"Of those, 2,479 horns will be burnt, while 94 horns with unique specifications will be preserved for research purposes, and 50 have been kept due to court cases involving those," Assam's Forest Minister said in a speech at the burning ceremony.

Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief guest, said that the drive will send a strong message to the world that Assam only values the horns safely present on live rhinos.

"If we continue to keep the horns in our treasuries, it sends the wrong message that we are protecting something valuable. By burning those, we want to let people know that a rhino horn is only valuable to us when it's enshrined atop a live rhino's head. If the rhino is dead, the horn itself is valueless to us," Mr Sarma emphasised.

The horns were kept in six temporary furnaces which were then set on fire after Hindu priests read the last rites and Mr Sarma too paid his "last respects".

"In every religion, it is important that we pay our last respects so that the soul can transcend to the afterlife. We have to de-horn and bury the rhinos that die of natural causes and accidents or else, poachers would dig up their graves and steal the horns away. Today (Wednesday), we are paying our last respects to the remaining part of the rhinos so that their souls too can transcend to the afterlife," Mr Sarma said in his speech.

The horns had undergone an elaborate process of verification and sampling during which the horns were cleaned, and each was provided a Unique Identification Number. Thereafter, samples were drilled out for studying genetic patterns, chemical composition and DNA patterns that would bring insight into the genetic regression and migrating patterns of the animal.

The 94 horns that are being preserved, mostly those above 1.5 kilograms, also include the world's second-longest horn -- 51.5 cm long, weighing 2.5 kgs, and found in the Guwahati treasury where it has been stored since 1961 -- and the world's heaviest rhino horn, weighing 3.05 kgs and 36 cm long, found in the Bagori Range of Kaziranga in 1982 and lodged at the Bokakhat treasury ever since.

"The Assam government will build a dedicated Kaziranga Museum for animals, and it will be adorned with these horns, and taxidermied one-horn rhinos and other animals will be kept for people to closely view them," Mr Sarma said.

The Delhi Zoo had in 2014 and 2017 burned animal body parts seized from poachers, but not at the scale that Assam did. Chitean National Park in Nepal, back in 2017, had also burned a stockpile of over 4,000 animal body parts, but those were an accumulation of several animals' hides, horns, bones and tusks.

This exercise is done regularly and at a very large scale in many African countries, with the highest quantity burned being 105 tonnes of ivory and over a tonne of rhino horns in 2016. However, many rhino farmers have questioned the activity and suggested that the horn trade be legalised and regulated so that the countries can earn revenue by selling the horns -- specifically to countries like China and Vietnam where there is a traditional market for these materials, given the belief that rhino horns possess medicinal properties and can cure ailments like hair loss, cancer, erectile dysfunction, and more.

In response, Mr Sarma said, "I too have received the suggestion, 'Why not sell the horns to help the government build roads and schools?' But, this goes against our culture and constitution. Moreover, this will also encourage poachers and will send a message that Assam too subscribes to the superstition that rhino horns may have medicinal values."

Rhino horns are composed entirely of keratin, a protein found in fingernails and hair, which has been dismissed by several researchers as having any medicinal value.

Reaffirming that Assam is committed to protecting its one-horned rhinos, Mr Sarma said, "The message delivered through reinforced security went very loud and clear to the poachers that the Assam government in its current regime will not spare them. So, the issue of rhinos being poached is out of the question. To protect the rhinos from getting into accidents while crossing roads or rail lines, we are planning to create an elevated corridor which will also be realised shortly."