Guwahati, April 5: Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will use his Kaziranga visit next week as an occasion to dispel the notion of a rhino horn having medicinal properties.
William, accompanied by his wife Kate, will be meeting park rangers, local villagers and visit the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation and an elephant clinic. The royal couple are on a visit to India and Bhutan from April 10-16.
A statement issued by Kensington Palace said, "The park has had success in recent years with protecting its animal population from poachers. This has begun to change, however, with a number of recent poaching incidents. Rhinos in particular are in danger as demand in other parts of Asia for their horns continues to rise. Traffickers in Southeast Asia are now marketing Indian rhino horn as 'fire horn' and lying about its increased potency when compared to African horn. The Duke will use this visit to speak out against the lies and violence that threaten this valuable species and the communities that rely on it ."
Rhino conservationist Bibhab Talukdar, secretary-general and CEO of Aaranyak, said the royal couple's visit will further strengthen the conservation awareness of rhinos in Assam and beyond. "Rhino poaching and illegal rhino-horn trade is a serious issue of global significance and use of rhino horn in consumer countries needs to be checked through every effort. In this regard, any effort of the Duke and Duchess would be crucial towards saving rhinos, " he added.
The visit to the park will begin on the evening of April 12. It comes at the time of Bohag Bihu festival, the celebration of the Assamese New Year. "Around a campfire, the Duke and Duchess will meet local people and witness dances and musical performances. It will be a colourful and fun introduction to rural life and a great way to start this leg of the tour," the statement said.
"The visit to Kaziranga will allow the Duke and Duchess to see up close the work being done to manage the conflicts that arise when humans and wild animals live in proximity. A number of stories of human-animal conflict in India have made global news recently and this trip will allow Their Royal Highnesses and accompanying media to understand this issue in much more detail," it said.
On April 13, the royal couple, after visiting Kaziranga will visit the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, which provides emergency care and rehabilitation to wild animals who have been injured, displaced or orphaned. They will also visit the health clinic for elephants and an elephant information centre, which is under construction.
"First of all, we don't think that rhino horn has any medicinal property, so the question of greater one-horned rhino horn having more potency over the African one doesn't arise. It would be great if other prominent figures also speak up against rhino-horn trade, and stop the onslaught on rhinos in Assam and in other states," Dipankar Ghose, director, Species and Landscapes Programme, WWF-India, told The Telegraph.
