(IN): Rhino horns stored in State treasuries decaying

[Guest guest]

Dear Azam,

 

Thanks for your important mail. I suggest the accumulated Rhino Horns s'd be

immediately brought to the notice of the public by proper weighing and

registered data and be destroyed in public view as is done in the state of

west Bengal. Else, going by the sheer value of the booty, any day those

treasuries may be the target of the gangs of terrorists. I don't support the

idea of selling it or auctioning it as that may seriously fuel the greed for

poaching.

 

Regards

Raja Chatterjee

Secretary, THE JUNGLEES 094334-20602

 

On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 10:03 AM, azam24x7 <azam24x7 wrote:

 

> *http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=may0409/State9

>

> Rhino horns stored in State treasuries decaying**

> *Suryya Kumar Chetia

> JORHAT, May 3 – Some horns of rhinos, which died from old age or were

> killed by other animals, and collected by the Forest Department and

> preserved in the treasuries, are now in a state of decomposition.

>

> The Forest Department has kept all the horns at the treasuries located in

> Golaghat, Nagaon and Sonitpur districts and some of these horns have been

> reduced into powdery substances due to some organic reaction, SN

> Buragohain,

> Director of Kaziranga National Park, told *The Assam Tribune*. The organic

> composition of the horns may lead to their degeneration over a period of

> time if there is no proper preservation.

>

> On an average, 100 rhinos die from natural causes every year in Kaziranga

> National Park. Last year the number of such rhino deaths stood at 104. Out

> of the dead rhinos, 75 per cent were full-grown bearing horns.

>

> Forest Department personnel collected the horns from rhino carcasses and

> sent these to the treasuries for storage under security arrangements.

>

> A top Forest Department official, seeking anonymity, informed this

> correspondent that there are more than 2,500 horns in the treasuries of the

> three districts. Initially, these horns were kept at the treasury in

> Golaghat district. But as the number of horns kept on increasing, these had

> to be sent to the treasuries in Nagaon and Sonitpur districts.

>

> The horns of the dead rhinos were sold legally during the late 1970s. But

> the National Wildlife Board banned its marketing which, in the later

> stages,

> encouraged poaching of rhinos.

>

> According to experts as well as Forest Department personnel, the horn of a

> rhino is a biological composition of dead cells without any value. From

> that

> point of view, it can be said that the horns need not be stored in safety

> as

> other precious jewels.

>

> The horns preserved from the earliest times should be displayed in a museum

> with proper care to attract tourists.

>

> In the underground market, 1 kg of rhino horn is sold for a sum between Rs

> 30 lakh and Rs 40 lakh. The fetching of lucrative prices in the clandestine

> international markets is the main motive behind the poaching of rhinos.

> From

> that viewpoint, it is a valuable object which can earn good revenue for the

> Government.

>

> Sources stressed that the horns should, therefore, be not allowed to decay

> in the treasuries.

>

> The sources added that the actual number of decomposed horns should be

> disclosed for public information and a register should be maintained so

> that

> the object is not smuggled out of the treasuries taking advantage of the

> fact of decomposition.

>

> The sources maintained that the Government should pay attention to the

> preservation of rhino horns which can form a good collection for display in

> a museum at Kaziranga National Park.

>

> --

> http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

> http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

>

>

>