An auction of rhino horns from the stockpiles of the world’s biggest private breeder will go ahead Monday after a South African court ordered that the government release permits for them.
South African authorities had moved to ban the three-day auction which they feared would undermine the global ban on rhino trade, refusing to issue a permit reports AFP.
The court ruled for the sale of about 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of horns by John Hume. Hume has more than 1,500 rhinos.
The Constitutional Court in South Africa allowed for the sale which will run from Aug. 21-24, after lifting a local ban on trade in April therefore granting permission for auctions provided buyers and sellers hold permits, and the horns stay in the country after the sale.
Rhino horns are highly prized, estimated to fetch up to $60,000 a kilo on the black market – more than the price of gold or cocaine. The horns have keratin, the same substance as a human fingernail, and there’s no evidence of any medical benefit
Environmental groups charge that the legal sale of rhino horns will only fuel poaching.
The proceeds of the auction will go toward protecting the herd, which costs him in excess of $170,000 monthly to defend from poachers.
While no commercial international trade of horns is allowed, international non-commercial export is legal subject to the issuing of permits by Cites, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in an Aug. 16 statement.
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.
