Online rhino horn auction set to open in South Africa

Breeders say open trade will stop poachers slaughtering rhino but activists say legal sales could fuel illegal hunting.

A ranger measures a rhino's horn to be trimmed at John Hume's Rhino Ranch in Klerksdorp [File: Mujahid Safodien/AFP]


An online auction of rhino horn is set to open Monday, after a court in South Africa approved the site which has outraged conservationists.

South African authorities had refused to issue a permit in a move to ban the three-day auction, which they feared would undermine a global ban on rhino trade.

But the High Court in Pretoria on Sunday ruled in favour of the auction's South African organiser, John Hume, who runs the world's biggest rhino farm.

His lawyer had argued that the permits had been approved but not issued by authorities in South Africa, where a ban on domestic rhino horn trade was lifted three months ago.

The ruling in April was said to have little effect outside South Africa because a ban on international trade is still in force.

Breeders believe open trade is the only way to stop poachers slaughtering rhino.

"We lost the case. We have to hand over the permit that was issued," said environment ministry spokesman Moses Rannditsheni.

The auction is due to start at 10:00 GMT Monday.


Rangers and farm workers de-horn a rhino by trimming part of his horn at John Hume's Rhino Ranch in Klerksdorp [Mujahid Safodien/AFP]


Hume regularly cuts his rhinos' horns, which then grow back, and has stockpiled six tonnes of horns. He wants to place 500kg, or 264 horns, under the hammer.

"We are happy. I hope that the government has learnt that they can't be unfair to us. The judge expressed his dismay at the conduct of the minister and the department," Hume.

Global trade in rhino horn is banned under a UN convention.

That means any horn acquired legally in South Africa could not be exported, but conservationists have expressed concerns that domestic buyers could illicitly supply Asian markets.

South Africa is home to around 20,000 rhinos, about 80 percent of the worldwide population, but in recent years has suffered record slaughter by poachers.

Hume and some other campaigners say poaching can only be halted by meeting the huge demand from Asia through legally "harvesting" horn from anaesthetised live rhinos.

But animal rights activists charge that the legal sale of rhino horns will only fuel poaching.

Highly prized
Rhino horns are highly prized, estimated to fetch up to $60,000 per kilo on the black market - more than the price of gold or cocaine.

Rhino horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails.

It is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases - as well as an aphrodisiac - in Vietnam and China.

Johan Van Eyk of Van's Auctioneers who will conduct the auction said there is no set opening price because this will be the first ever rhino horn auction.

South Africa has over 300 private rhino breeders who say they have spent more than $150m to protect their herds over the past nine years.

White rhinos nearly went extinct last century but South African conservation efforts and private game farms have swelled their numbers in recent decades though poachers are again putting them in danger.



Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/...on-set-open-south-africa-170821043921244.html

Thank you for sharing Henry!

UPDATE - Postponed

Cape Town - The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) confirms that the much-anticipated online rhino auction that was set to take place on Monday 21 August, following an urgent court application by organiser and rhino breeder John Hume, has been postponed until Wednesday 23 August at 2pm due to legal challenges.

"We are aware that the auction has been postponed," says Moses Rannditsheni, environment ministry spokesperson, who earlier confirmed with Traveller24 that the selling permit was issued "in error" by an official who “could have possibly regarded it as one of the other [environmental] permits”.

It has been reported that one of the auction officials says the permit was only received on Monday morning. The legal challenge caused the online auction to be delayed. The official website for the auction has also been updated with adjustments to the date and time of the auction.

Hopefully the auction goes well. This could be the start of things trending in the right direction and represents a real, significant hope for rhino conservation.

Maybe I'm just a dreamer, but I'd like to think that legalized trade in horns could even have the potential to pull the black rhino back from the brink... if it isn't too late.

Just imagine what the big ranches in Texas could and probably would do for Rhino populations if there was legal sale of horn.

SETH RINGER said:

Just imagine what the big ranches in Texas could and probably would do for Rhino populations if there was legal sale of horn.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't have a poaching problem...... Would be Poachers would be dealt a swift death blow.

So the auction is closed!!
Does anyone have any information on the result?? Any buyer from AH??
Thank you.
Renzo

For your information:

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/sc...s-blame-for-disappointing-first-horn-auction/

Rhino baron shifts blame for ‘disappointing’ first horn auction

South African rhino baron John Hume has lashed out against Environmental Affair Minister Edna Molewa‚ blaming her for the “disappointing” results of what was the world’s first online rhino horn auction.

Hume would not disclose how many horns he sold – nor what prices they fetched – during the much-publicised auction‚ which began on Wednesday and closed late on Friday. Nor did he reveal the identity of the bidders.

As part of the online sale‚ Hume advertised 264 horns‚ weighing almost 500kg‚ to local and foreign buyers on a local website translated into Chinese and Vietnamese.

“The auction yielded fewer bidders and fewer sales than anticipated‚ but the legal domestic trade has now been re-established and the road has been paved for future sales‚” he said in a statement issued by his attorney‚ Izak du Toit‚ at the weekend.

He argued that Molewa obstructed the auction from going ahead until the last moment‚ only issuing a sale permit to him under orders from the High Court the day before the auction was set to begin. This‚ he said‚ discouraged buyers from registering timeously.

Hume‚ 75‚ a former holiday resorts and property developer from Johannesburg‚ now owns an 8‚000 ha farm in North West province where he ranches and “harvests” horns from his 1‚500 rhinos on a regular basis. He says horns are removed without pain or blood‚ by carefully sawing them off above the growth tissue plate while the animals are under sedation‚ allowing them to regrow naturally.

Though he has been vilified by several conservation and animal welfare groups which accuse him of seeking to profit from the rhino conservation crisis‚ Hume argues that legal horn trading could ultimately prevent rhinos from being poached to extinction.

In his formal statement‚ Hume said the auction was hampered by having to go to court for an urgent order against Molewa and her department‚ who “appeared to make every effort to derail the auction and to discourage participation therein”.

“Our client however persisted to enforce his constitutional rights and this resulted in the conclusion of this historical and ground-breaking event. Despite the supposed concerns published by the department prior to the auction and despite the fact that Mr Hume only received the auction permit on the morning that bidding was scheduled to commence‚ our client achieved what he set out to do more than eight years ago: the establishment of a legal trade in a renewable natural resource to generate desperately needed funding to protect rhino as a species under siege‚” the statement said.

Hume would now comply with his reporting duties to the department in accordance with the conditions of the auction permit.

“We do not intend to publish the names of the purchasers or the prices achieved at the auction at this stage‚ out of respect for the privacy and confidentiality of the purchasers. We however assure the public that all bidders were duly authorised to participate in the auction and were issued with the legally required permits to so participate.

“The fact that very few bidders were willing to sign up for the auction can only be attributed to the unlawful delay in handing over the auction permit and the consequential limited time of less than two days for bidders to register‚” he said‚ noting that “many” of the auction lots were still available via Van’s Auctioneers in Gauteng.

“The department almost succeeded in enforcing the invalid rhino horn trade moratorium‚ but our client persisted and triumphed. Clearly the demand for rhino horn remains and our rhino are still being slaughtered by the thousands‚ but as from today a legal and sustainable supply has been established. No longer will rhino need to be killed for their horn. No longer shall the supply come exclusively from dead rhino. From this day live rhino shall become more valuable than dead rhino. Despite government bullying tactics and illogical unsustainable animal rights propaganda‚ we will continue our fight to bring this dark trade into the light in order to conserve our rhinos‚” Hume proclaimed in his statement.

Molewa’s spokesman‚ Albi Modise‚ did not respond to requests for comment‚ indicating a statement could be issued on Monday.

Hopefully this will be just like the American alligator.

SETH RINGER said:

Just imagine what the big ranches in Texas could and probably would do for Rhino populations if there was legal sale of horn.

Click to expand...

Exactly are we are seeing movement in that direction

I like how the writer of the article says "Conservationists" when what they really mean is Preservationists. Conservationists are what we are and that is people wanting to manage animals for their betterment. Preservationists want a hands off approach to wildlife. Journalists need to get a dictionary!