  We prove that magnetic charge does not exist as a physical observable on the
physical Hilbert space of the pure SU(2) gauge theory. The abelian magnetic
monopoles seen in lattice simulations are then interpreted as artifacts of
gauge fixing. The apparent physical scaling properties of the monopole density
in the continuum limit observed on the lattice are attributed to the correct
scaling properties of physical objects - magnetic vortices, as first argued by
Greensite et. al. We can show that a local gauge transformation of a certain
type can " create" abelian monopole-antimonopole pairs along magnetic vortices.
This gauge transformation exists in pure SU(N) gauge theory at any $N$.
