The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have expressed their sense of
outrage after learning that a rhino was shot dead by poachers at an
Indian park, on the same day the royal couple toured the area to
highlight conservation.
Less
than 10 hours after Prince William and Kate Middleton went on a jeep
safari in Kaziranga National Park during their six-day
royal tour of India and Bhutan
, poachers killed the animal and removed its horn.
Forest rangers
discovered the male rhino's carcass, along with almost 100 shell casings
from an AK-47 on Thursday (14 April) morning. It's believed to be the
sixth rhino to be killed by poachers in Kaziranga in Assam this year.
Kaziranga divisional forest officer Subhashis Das told the Indian
Express newspaper: "One adult male rhino was killed near the Patahi Beel
water-body under the Borghop anti-poaching camp in the Burrapahar
range. The incident occurred at around 11.10pm on Wednesday.
"Our forest guards who rushed to the spot on hearing of
gunshots were engaged in an exchange of fire with the poachers, but the
culprits managed to escape under the cover of darkness." Footage obtained by ITV News
shows the adult greater one-horned rhino covered in blood and with its horn hacked off.
The royal couple were staying in a lodge around 12 miles
away from the spot where the animal was killed. They had earlier visited
the nearby Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC)
where the Duchess fed bottled milk to an orphaned rhino calf, describing
the experience as a highlight of her trip to the world heritage site. William and Kate also spotted several fully grown rhinos during the jeep safari.
The
killing of the endangered species shocked the royal couple, with Prince
William said to be "appalled" by the reports. A Kensington Palace
spokesman said: "The Duke and Duchess were angry to hear about the
killing of this rhino during their visit. They hope their time in
Kaziranga encourages others to support the brave rangers that are
protecting animals that are so important to the communities that
surround the national park."
Kaziranga is home to over 2,400 one-horned rhinos. Last
year, 20 rhinos were killed there by poachers for their horns which are
sold on to customers in China, Vietnam and other countries where people
incorrectly believe that the ground rhino horn can treat rheumatism and
impotence. Poachers can earn up to £212,000 a kilogram for the
substance.
Kensington Palace told ITV News that the Duke of Cambridge
is planning to fund training and equipment for rangers, through his
charity United for Wildlife.
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