PhotoA court in South Africa effectively overturned a national ban on the trade of rhinoceros horns, a move that was celebrated by the country’s commercial rhino breeders but condemned by animal preservation groups. “We welcome the Constitutional Court ruling,” Pelham Jones, chairman of the Private Rhino Owners Association of South Africa, which brought the case, told reporters. South Africa is home to about 20,000 rhinos, more than 80 percent of the world’s total population. A global ban on the horn trade, enforced by a United Nations convention, remains in place. Therefore, even if horns are obtained legally in South Africa, they cannot be exported or legally traded on the international market.

Source: New York Times April 05, 2017 22:41 UTC