Rhino poaching slightly down with domestic trade in place
Even though the Constitutional Court recently rejected an appeal by the government to preserve a 2009 moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn, the international trade in rhino horn remains strictly prohibited. Earlier this year, the Court dismissed Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa’s application for leave to appeal the High Court’s decision to set aside the moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn. Speaking during a media briefing on Monday to provide an update on the latest rhino poaching statistics, Molewa said the commercial international trade in rhino horn remains strictly prohibited in terms of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). An international ban on trade in rhino horns has been in place since 1977. "SA is a signatory to CITES. The … draft regulations [focused on domestic trade] published for public comment relate to a proposed domestic trade," Molewa said. Rhino breeders argue that poaching...
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