The ban on the domestic trade in rhino horns was lifted on Thursday by the high court in Pretoria, as government did not follow the process of public participation before imposing the moratorium.
Judge Francis Legodi in his judgement referred to the staggering number of rhino being poached in our country and said the exact percentage attributed to the moratorium is not know, but clearly its role in adding to the surge in poaching cannot be excluded.
“The extent of smuggling or illegal export or rhino horns due to lack of implementation of the applicable measures is not known. But what disastrous implications would be brought about by the immediate lifting of the moratorium? I cannot think of any. The solution appears to lie in the effective implementation of applicable and envisaged measures,” the judge said.
His judgement followed an earlier application by two of the country’s largest rhino farmers who wanted to overturn Government’s moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn.
John Hume, who calls himself the single largest private rhino owner and breeder in the world and wildlife rancher Johan Kruger, attacked the 2009 national moratorium on domestic trade in rhino, imposed by former Minister of water and Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
A full bench of three judges, led by Judge Legodi, heard the application.
The pair challenged the validity of the moratorium on various grounds, including that the minister did not follow the process of public participation before imposing the moratorium.
It was argued on behalf of Hume, that it was said that the moratorium would only be in place for about six months. It is now more than six years later and it is still in place.
Pretoria News
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