Wicus Diedericks, owner of Rockwood Conservation, dropped a bomb on the rhino conservation world on Friday, when a court ruled that he can trade in rhino horn (devil is in the details). It’s not quite that simple, but the ruling stated that the CITES exemption for conservation-bred rhinos is part of South African law - i.e., he should legally be able to get an export permit for horns that have been dehorned from his herd. This is huge news for rhino conservation and potentially the legal mechanism by which rhino horn can be purchased by the east and the Middle East. This is absolutely breaking news, with this court decision occurring last Friday. We do not know the extent of the implications of the court ruling, we do know the MEC of the Northern Cape has 7 days to respond to the issuance of the export permit. We also know that in 2 1/2 weeks CITES COP starts in Uzbekistan and this will be the talk of the town there!

Get to know the guest: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-10-31-rhino-horn-harvested-from-captive-breeding-operations-can-be-exported-high-court-rules/

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