NEPAL: 4,012 Animal Parts, Wildlife Trophies Destroyed

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that animal parts and trophies were destroyed to discourage the poaching of wildlife.

Inaugurating the program organized to destroy animal parts and trophies at Kasara Monday, the Foreign Affairs Minister said that the body parts and trophies of wildlife have no importance.

He said that natural life and death is the right of wildlife. Saying poaching of rare wildlife in Nepal has been considered as a serious crime, Mahat said that the government would not leave any stone unturned to take strict action against those involved in wildlife poaching.

He said that support of local communities was necessary to the government bodies to reduce poaching.

Similarly, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Shankar Bhandari said that the animal parts and trophies were burnt to destroy them to give a message that animal parts and trophies are useless for any purpose.

He said that the animal parts and trophies were destroyed to reduce poaching of wildlife as well as to reduce illegal trade. Minister Bhandari said that some animal parts and trophies have been kept for research and study.

A monument would be built above the place where the ash is buried after destroying the animal parts and trophies.

Saying forest, wildlife and environment have inter-relation among each other, Minister for Population and Environment Jaydev Joshi said that conservation of rare wildlife has now become a challenge.

Likewise, State Minister for Forest Dirgharaj Bhat said that a mission destroying the animal parts and trophies became successful due to support of all while Secretary at the Forest Ministry Prakash Mathema said that program was significant to control crime against wildlife, to follow the criteria determined by CITES, to disseminate a message that animal parts and trophies have no meaning after death of wildlife.

Similarly, US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz said that it would help to disseminate a message to control poaching of rare wildlife in international arena.

The animal parts and trophies were destroyed in a 15-meter long and five-meter wide furnace.

A total of 4,012 pieces of animal parts and trophies, stored at the Armed Forest Guard Training CentER, Tikauli, and Kasara of the Chitwan National Park, were destroyed. Of them, 67 tiger hides, 357 horns of rhinos, a piece of skin of snow leopard, 418 leopard hides, among others were destroyed.

Some animal parts and trophies including 67 tiger hides, 375 horns of rhino, five tiger hides, 10 horns of the one-horned rhino, a piece of snow leopard skin and five pieces of leopard skins, among others, are to be kept for study and research. Eighty-four pieces of animal parts and trophies of 27 species are going to be kept safely.

Coordinator of the Animal Parts and Trophies Management Implementation Committee and Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Man Bahadur Khadka said that destroyed animal parts and trophies were of 48 species. A total of 1,100 kg of elephant tusks are not to be destroyed this time as it needs 900 degrees centigrade heat to burn it.

Saying there was challenge in the security of animal parts and trophies, Director General of the Department of Forest Krishna Prasad Acharya said that it was necessary to destroy it.

Different countries including Malaysia, UAE, USA, Thailand, Kenya and Vietnam also destroy the animal parts and trophies.

The stored animal parts were seized while being smuggled to other countries via Nepal. The animal parts and trophies were destroyed as per the decision of Council of Ministers on May 18.

Earlier, the animal parts and trophies were destroyed at the Armed Forest Guard Training Center, Tikauli, on March 22, 1998. RSS