The Department of Environmental Affairs said it intends appealing Thursday's ruling by Pretoria High Court judge, Francis Legodi, effectively lifting the moratorium on the trdade in rhino horn.
The ruling was a result of a court challenge by two game breeders, John Hume and Johan Kruger, who had reportedly argued that it was their constitutional right to sell rhino horn.
Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, said the court decision did not mean that the domestic trade in rhino horn may take place in an unregulated fashion.
"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)," Molewa said in a statement.
"In terms of NEM:BA a permit is required to trade in rhino horns and any derivatives or products of horn and the judgment does not mean that 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. The Department furthermore clarified that this judgment also does not relate to the international trade in rhino horn for commercial purposes," she added.
"Commercial international trade in rhino horn is still prohibited in terms of the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In any event, once the Department has filed its application for leave to appeal, the order of the court will be suspended pending the finalisation of the application and the appeal should the application for leave to appeal be successful," Molewa said.
Meanwhile, Hume, one of the applicants in the matter, said it must be understood that the court ruling was aimed at protecting those rhino that have not been poached.
"Whilst the government may well appeal the decision, don't forget we will still need a permit to sell rhino horn and the government will put certain conditions on that sale of rhino horn. I only hope that they will take the rhino into account because, as I say, if I don't sell rhino horn it's gonna be many dead rhino," Hume said.
Frank Krull, of the Tyityiba Game Reserve near East London, said he supported the court ruling. Krull lost three rhino to poachers in February.
"I've always supported it. It should have been opend a long time ago. When it (moratorium) was open there was hardly any poaching of the rhino. It was only when they put the moratorium of no sale of rhino horn did the poaching escalate," Krull said.
"If it was done a long time ago we would have save a lot of rhino," he added.
But, the lobby group, Outraged SA Citizens Against Poaching, disagrees.
Spokesperson, Allison Thomson, said the ruling has dealt a serious blow to the conservation of rhinos in South Africa and also to the survival of the species.
"This ruling has dealt a serious blow to the conservation of rhinos in South Africa and also to the survival of the species. We trust that the Department of Environmental Affairs will appeal this ruling and all steps will be taken to ensure that the security and safety of our rhinos are always kept as a priority not the greed of individuals who have a vested interest in trading in body parts of our rhinos," she said.
"South Africa does not have a market for rhino horn domestically and the opening of trade locally will only lead to the smuggling of rhino horn, by criminal syndicates, into the black market in Vietnam and China," said Thomson.
Former English cricket great Sir Ian Botham will be heading to South Africa early next month to add his voice to rhino conservation.
He will undertake a series of charity walks across South Africa to the benefit of four charities including the Chipembere Rhino Foundation. Botham says the issue is close to his heart.
"If people don't stand up and address this problem, stop hiding, don't just persecute the poachers, the poachers at the end of the day are so small in this whole plot you need to go for the big boys. You need to cut the snake's head off and we dont' do that for some reason and I think it needs addressing," Botham said.
