THE ban on trade in rhino horn has reportedly been lifted by a decision of the High Court in Pretoria.
It was reported on Thursday in the Citizen that the prohibition was lifted on the grounds that the public had not been properly informed about the ban on trade in rhino horn and that a consultation process had not been followed.
The reported ruling of a High Court judge on an application from two game farmers flies in the face of SA’s implementation of an international ban on rhino horn trade as implemented by signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Cites is due to meet in SA next year and a lifting of the ban is expected to feature on the agenda as there is a growing belief that the sale of horn stockpiles will flood the market and reduce levels of poaching.
SA is home to 80% of the world’s rhinos and has seen a huge increase in poaching, losing more than 1,000 animals last year alone. The main destinations for poached horn are Vietnam and China.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the decision or not.
Judge Francis Legodi reportedly set aside the ban after the game farmers contended that it was their constitutional right to sell rhino horn.
"It is maybe on a technical point that the judge ruled in the applicants’ favour," said leading antitrade lobbyist Dex Kotze.
"The pro-trade lobby will see it as quite a big win for themselves, but who are they going to sell it to? Because at the end of the day, the South African market doesn’t consume."
The decision came after a northern white rhino — one of just four remaining worldwide — died on Sunday at the San Diego Zoo in the US.
With AFP
The ban on trade in rhino horn has reportedly been lifted by a decision of the High Court in Pretoria. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
THE ban on trade in rhino horn has reportedly been lifted by a decision of the High Court in Pretoria.
It was reported on Thursday in the Citizen that the prohibition was lifted on the grounds that the public had not been properly informed about the ban on trade in rhino horn and that a consultation process had not been followed.
The reported ruling of a High Court judge on an application from two game farmers flies in the face of SA’s implementation of an international ban on rhino horn trade as implemented by signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Cites is due to meet in SA next year and a lifting of the ban is expected to feature on the agenda as there is a growing belief that the sale of horn stockpiles will flood the market and reduce levels of poaching.
SA is home to 80% of the world’s rhinos and has seen a huge increase in poaching, losing more than 1,000 animals last year alone. The main destinations for poached horn are Vietnam and China.
The Department of Environmental Affairs said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the decision or not.
Judge Francis Legodi reportedly set aside the ban after the game farmers contended that it was their constitutional right to sell rhino horn.
"It is maybe on a technical point that the judge ruled in the applicants’ favour," said leading antitrade lobbyist Dex Kotze.
"The pro-trade lobby will see it as quite a big win for themselves, but who are they going to sell it to? Because at the end of the day, the South African market doesn’t consume."
The decision came after a northern white rhino — one of just four remaining worldwide — died on Sunday at the San Diego Zoo in the US.
With AFP
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