A moratorium on the domestic trade of rhino horn was set aside by a judgment handed down in the High Court of South Africa in Gauteng on Thursday.
The judgment comes ahead of the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which takes place in 2016 and where SA is expected to lobby CITES to lift the current ban on international trade of rhino horn.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, noted the judgment and intends to appeal it, the department said on Thursday.
"The decision of the court should not be construed to mean that the domestic trade in rhino horn may take place in an unregulated fashion,” the department said in a statement. “In the absence of the moratorium, it must be emphasised that all trade in rhino horn will be subjected to the issuing of the relevant permits in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004).”
The department also emphasised that the ruling did does not relate to the international trade in rhino horn for commercial purposes, which is prohibited in terms of the CITES provisions.
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