Nepalese authorities continue to crack down on illegal rhino horn trade.
A police raid at a hotel in Kathmandu’s popular tourist district of Thamel has reportedly netted six alleged rhino horn dealers. The gang was identified as Dhan Bahadur Ghale and his wife Krishna Kumari Gurung; Chatur Bahadur Gurung and Mahesh Subedi of Gorkha; Subir Shrestha ‘Bhola’ of Morang, and Pema Sang of Taplejung.
The suspects were caught red-handed in a hotel room with one rhino horn.
According to The Himalayan Times, the dealers were discussing plans to sell the 1.3 kilogram rhino horn for Rs 3.1 million.
The arrestees told the crime investigators that they were trying to sell the rhino horn for Rs 3.1 million.
The Indian Rupee is referred to either Rs or INR; the current USD conversion for Rs 3.1 million is $70,057.
Rhino horn leaving Nepal and India is smuggled to the traditional destination of China, where illegal rhino horn may be worth USD $50,000 per kilogram. It was reported earlier this year by Care for the Wild International and Wildlife Extra that rhino horn was indeed fetching USD $50,000 per kilogram. A 2008 Chinese publication suggested that rhino horn could even command as much as USD $60,000 per kilogram.1
Rhino horn traders arrested
So far this month, three rhino horn traders and a well-known rhino poacher were arrested by Nepalese authorities.
The suspects were handed over to Nepal’s forest department, which has a track record of administering tough penalties for rhino crimes.
In May 2010, Chitwan National Park officials handed out prison sentences to 16 rhino poachers. Three received ten years in jail, one received 14 years, and the remaining twelve will spend 15 years in prison.
Notorious rhino killing gang rounded up
Five people suspected of killing at least six – and possibly seven – rhinos over the past year in Chitwan National Park were arrested in February.
Also in February, a rhino killer was shot dead by a joint patrol team of Bardia National Park and the Nepal Army after the poachers opened fire on the patrol unit.
Nepal has already lost one rhino to the illegal rhino horn trade in 2011. The tragedy occurred during the first week of January in Chitwan National Park.
Greater one-horned rhinos
One of the three Asian rhino species, greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) were once widespread throughout the northern floodplains and nearby foothills of the Indian sub-continent between Indo-Myanmar border in the east, and Sindh River basin, Pakistan in the west.
Today, the remaining 2,850 greater one-horned rhinos are found only in a few protected areas in northeastern India and lowland Nepal.
Traditional medicine myths continue to threaten rhinos
Although the greater one-horned rhino population is steadily increasing, these rhinos remain under threat of being killed for their horn.
Despite the fact that extensive scientific analysis has confirmed that rhino horn has no medicinal value, myths and superstitions about rhino horn persist throughout China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is considered a key ingredient of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
How to help
To learn more about our efforts to help support public awareness activities in Nepal, check out Update from Nepal: A Successful Year of Raising Public Awareness About Rhino Conservation.
We appreciate your help in educating others through sharing our articles, and for your continued support through rhino t-shirt sales.
Photo courtesy of Suman Bhattarai, Partnership for Rhino Conservation (PARC/Nepal)
1. Yanyan, D., Qian, J. (2008). Proposal for Protection of the Rhinoceros and the Sustainable Use of Rhinoceros Horn. State Soft Sciences Project, Development Strategy for Traditional Chinese Medicine Research
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