Poachers killed 74 rhinos in Assam in 3 years, says Forest Minister Brahma

Altogether 74 rhinos were killed by poachers in Assam since 2015 and 316 poachers arrested during 2015-17.

Assam Forest Minister Pramilla Rani Brahma informed this at the Assam Assembly on Thursday.

Twenty one rhinos were killed in 2015, 22 the next year and nine last year, Minister Brahma said in reply to a question by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam.

To another query, the minister said police records showed the involvement of militant outfits in poaching of the Pride of Assam, and action was taken against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Kaziranga is home to at least 2,500 greater one-horned rhinos, the world’s largest population of the species, listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.