Court ruling permits rhino horn exports for conservation funding

A NORTHERN Cape court has opened the door for South African rhino breeders to export horn legally, a ruling that could reshape how conservation is funded.

- ZELDA VENTER

RHINO conservationist Wicus Diedericks received the judicial greenlight to export rhino horns to fund conservation efforts.

(FILE)

The Kimberley High Court's decision came after Wicus Diedericks who operates a private rhino conservancy, argued that selling horn from living rhinos was essential to sustain his R20 million-a-year preservation efforts.

The government, however, refused to issue him the relevant permits.

Diedericks describes his conservancy as breeding rhinos to help ensure the survival of the species and play a part in the prevention of its extinction.

His property spans 33,000 hectares, but its location is not mentioned due to the dangers of rhino poaching.

Diedericks told the court that he has operated this rhino conservancy at great personal cost for more than 10 years.

He needed to protect these animals from poaching by harvesting and then selling the horns of living animals, which were born in captivity, in a sustainable manner that is not harmful to any living animal.