In a bid to discourage the poaching of wildlife, a huge reserve of animal parts and trophies were destroyed at Kasara of Chitwan on Monday.

A total of 4,012 pieces of animal parts and trophies, stored at the Armed Forest Guard Training Centre, Tikauli, and Kasara of the Chitwan National Park, were destroyed in a 15-meter long and five-meter wide furnace.

Animal parts and trophies of forty-eight different species recovered from dead animals or seized from poachers were destroyed by setting them on fire as per the Cabinet decision.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Shankar Bhandari and Minister for Population and Environment, Jayadev Joshi, among other senior government officials were present during the occassion.

Some tiger hides, rhino horns, snow leopard skin, among 84 other such parts, have been kept for study and research.

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

The government had decided to destroy the animal parts and trophies to discourage poaching and bring down the demand and market value of these items retained as priced possession.