When the state forest minister of Assam, Pramila Rani Brahama, visited Kaziranga last week, he was greeted by a tragedy. Poachers had attacked and killed a female rhino during the minister's visit and the forest officials tried to cover up their mistake by spraying chemicals and salt on the carcass.
The minister has released yet another statement this Saturday, stating that the state police will also be included in the activities to counter poaching activities in Assam. The minister has also promised strict action against the forest officials who have been charged with aiding the poachers.?
PTI
"People are talking about poaching and community-led conservation programmes as if they are fool-proof plans. They are not. For every villager who helps the poacher, there is a monetary prize. In the conservation programme, there is nothing," says Dr Bibhab Talukdar, Chair of the IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group, Secretary General of Indian NGO Aaranyak, and Asian Rhino Coordinator for the International Rhino Foundation.?
The current poaching crisis is attributed to the growing demand for rhino horn in Asian countries, mainly Vietnam and China. According to a report by Save The Rhino, "Vietnam has been identified as the largest user country of rhino horn. Although rhino horn has no scientific medical benefits, consumers are using it to treat a wide range of conditions, from cancer to hangovers, and due to its high value it is now also used as a status symbol by wealthy individuals. The high price fetched for the horn has attracted the involvement of ruthless criminal syndicates who use high-tech equipment to track down and kill the rhinos."
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Dr Talukdar adds, "There are two primary routes to get the rhino horn out of the country and into China, via Myanmar or through Nepal. There is a nexus of poor residents living along the borders of each state who help the poachers in turn for some money." Without proper jobs and money, this nexus continues to thrive.?
A report by the Rhino Resource centre states: "From confidential sources in West Bengal, Assam and Bhutan, it appears that traders in Bhutan from at least the mid-1980s to the present have been buying the majority of West Bengal's horns. Usually the horns are taken overland from Siliguri to Phuntsholing on the border with India in south-west Bhutan. Phuntsholing is a trading town and, unlike other parts of the country, Indians can go there without a visa."
assam.gov.in
The report further states, "Rhino horns from West Bengal are brought to Phuntsholing sometimes by people of the Bodo tribe (originally from Assam) living in West Bengal (where they are called 'Mech'). In 1992, they sold the horns to Bhutanese for around $8,600 a kilo. Bodos also bring to Phuntsholing horns from rhinos poached in Assam."?
PTI
There are three main pieces of evidence verifying Phuntsholing's role in the rhino horn trade. First, there have been several seizures of Indian horns in and around this town. There has even been some trade in African rhino horn. In 1984, one African horn weighing 2.2 kilos was confiscated by Indian officials. Second, the state governments of India pay informers who have reported on this trade route. And third, a Bhutanese Princess educated at Cambridge University, Dekichoden Wangchuck, aunt of the former King, was arrested at Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek airport in September 1993 with 22 Indian rhino horns.?
AP
"The horns are not carried in bulk. They can be ferried around in small backpacks or dolls. With the lack of personnel, several portions of the state border remain vulnerable and are used by the poachers to move into and out of the states,"explains Dr Talukdar. ?
"Intelligence is the key to counter the crimes," he says. "It is not that the government has not taken steps. The government has and continues to take steps which may or may not be enough to tackle the situation. At present, we need to work on building a stronger village network of witnesses to the crimes and involve more than just forest officials to track the poachers on the ground. Once caught, the poachers should face strict and swift action to deter the rest of their kind."
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Reflecting on the current spate of female rhinos being poached as opposed to the larger and more profitable male rhino horn, Dr Talukdar explains "There is a very small window of opportunity that the poachers have. In that time frame when there is no official around, they will strike at whatever they find. Male or female rhino does not matter. Also, in many cases, there are revenge killing of the rhinos by the poachers in retaliation to some members of their group being caught."
Tragically, Indian officials are aware of some of the well-placed rhino traders in Bhutan but are unable to take action on them. "In 1994, one trader from Bhutan's capital, Thimpu, even had the audacity to use a business card stating that he was a trader in rhino horn," a report on the Rhino Resource Centre states.
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