Private owners selling rhino horns will only be allowed to engage in domestic trade that is regulated by permits and strict regulations. This was the warning from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) issued in a press release last Friday, 30 June.

The DEA felt compelled to remind the public of this, following reports last week that one of the world’s biggest rhino breeders, Mr John Hume from the North West province, will sell off rhino horn in August.

According to the Pretoria News, Hume plans to sell half a ton of rhino horns in an online auction. It was not clear what rules would govern international buyers’ participation in the auction. “The Department of Environmental Affairs has noted with concern misrepresentation of facts on aspects associated with rhino horn trade,” said DEA spokesperson Mr Albi Modise.

The commercial international trade in rhino horn remains prohibited in terms of the international protocols that South Africa is party to, particularly the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The DEA warned that the fact that they are currently considering comments that were made in response to a set of draft regulations, which opened for public comment in February this year, does not mean that any CITES process can be circumvented. The draft regulations will aim to manage the domestic trade in rhino horn.  

The DEA further explained that in as far the domestic trade in rhino horn is concerned, it was subject to the issuing of the relevant permits of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Nemba), Act No 10 of 2004, its regulations and applicable provincial legislation.

In terms of Nemba, a permit is required to possess, transport and trade in rhino horns and any derivatives or products of horn. “The Constitutional Court judgment in April confirming the setting aside of the 2009 moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn retrospectively does not mean persons are allowed to trade (including selling, donating, or in any way acquiring or disposing of) rhino horn without a permit issued by the relevant provincial conservation department,” said Modise.

For now, application forms for such permits must be submitted in the province in which the applicant intends to carry out the restricted activity.

In the meantime, the DEA is still scrambling to get the full and accurate information on the number of rhino horns in South Africa. The DEA has developed an electronic database of all private and government-owned stockpiles. To date, the DEA has conducted audit inspections of all government rhino horns across the country. The process to count the privately-owned rhino horns is still on-going.