Rare rhino horns go up in flames in India anti-poaching campaign

The first ceremony of its kind was held in northeastern India as part of an anti-poaching drive to mark World Rhino Day.

Nearly 2,500 rare rhino horns have been destroyed in the first ceremony of its kind in northeastern India as part of an anti-poaching drive to mark World Rhino Day on Wednesday.

The endangered one-horned rhinoceros used to be widespread in the region but hunting and habitat loss have slashed its numbers to just a few thousand, with most now found in India’s Assam state.

Trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.