International trade of Rhino horn remains illegal
According to the department there has been some confusion regarding the legality of the international trade of rhino horn.
THE Department of Environmental Affairs said on Friday that the commercial international trade in rhino horn remains prohibited.
This after the department alleged that there had been some confusion following the Constitutional Court judgment in April 2017 to ‘set aside’ the 2009 moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn.
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The trade (which includes selling, donating, or in any way acquiring or disposing of rhino horn) without a permit issued by the relevant provincial conservation department remains illegal.
“The department wishes to place on record that the planned sale of rhino horn by private rhino owners is for domestic trade only.”
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However, the domestic trade in rhino horn is subject to the issuance of the relevant permits in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004) (NEMBA), its regulations and applicable provincial legislation.
Rhino horn is regulated in terms of the Convention on International Trade in Species of fauna and flora (CITES) as an Appendix I specimen. This means that international trade is regulated in terms of Article III of the Convention.
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