Police have busted two people for selling rhino horn in Nepal’s capital.

Two rhino horn traders – believed to have links to a wildlife trading syndicate – were arrested in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The duo was reportedly apprehended after a scuffle between rhino horn buyers and sellers erupted at a hotel in Chabahil.

The rhino horn traders were identified as Deepak Thakuri (25) from Surkhet and Radheshyam Majhi (38) from Bara. They named Nirmala Shrestha as the actual kingpin in the rhino horn racket, and alleged they were “only” couriers.

If convicted, Thakuri and Majhi could face up to 15 years in jail.

Greater one-horned rhinos in Nepal

Approximately 435 greater one horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) call Nepal their home, occupying Chitwan National Park, Bardia National Park, and Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve.

Nepal’s rhinos are in constant danger of being killed for their horn, due to myths and superstitions about rhino horn’s so-called healing powers.

Rhino horn has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has been prescribed for a wide array of ailments, including fever, anxiety, boils – and even “devil possession”.

However, several scientific studies have confirmed that rhino horn actually contains no medicinal properties whatsoever.

Source: The Himalayan Times

Photo courtesy of Suman Bhattarai, Partnership for Rhino Conservation (PARC) Nepal

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Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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