Assam Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said that the Government has decided to go in for introducing the Rhino DNA Indexing System (RhODIS) in the State and the move is expected to help the arrest and prosecution of the poachers and thereby save the rhinos.

Hussain said this after taking part in the ongoing three-day workshop titled, Saving Unicorns: International Co-operation for Rhino Conservation, organised by the State forest department in association with the WWF India.

Hussain said that the RhODIS has already proved to be helpful in South Africa and other African nations in arrest and prosecution of poachers. Developed by veterinary genetics laboratory at the faculty of veterinary science of the University of Pretoria in South Africa, RhODIS helps establishing the links between a rhino horn and its origin by analysing its DNA.

The system helps tracking down poachers across the world and the sample collected for DNA indexing can prove to be vital evidence in convicting the poachers and prosecuting them.

“RhODIS is a very effective tool that has helped track down poachers and the sample collected for DNA indexing has proved to be vital evidence in convicting the poachers and prosecuting them. We are trying our best to tackle the problem of poaching and are sure that this tool with aid us do so,” the Assam Forest Minister said.

“This would play a vital role in creating a database of rhinos that have been killed and also convict and prosecute poachers,” he said adding that the State has low rate of conviction of poachers as there are lack of evidence in the court of law to convict them. “This is the reason why most of the poachers go scot-free in many cases. But this rhino conservation mechanism will help gather the correct scientific evidence to convict them,” he added.

According to the statistics of the State Government, there are a total of 2,553 rhinos at present. However, the poachers have already killed 20 rhinos since January this year.