Private Breeder to Auction 1,100 Pounds of Rhino Horn
- Sale to take place after court orders state to issue permits
- Trade is legal if horns remain in nation and permits are held
White rhinos shelter from the sun beneath a cluster of trees on a ranch belonging to John Hume in South Africa on Dec. 4, 2015.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
An auction of rhino horns from the stockpiles of the world’s biggest private breeder will go ahead after a South African court ordered that the government release permits for them.
The sale of about 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of horns by John Hume, who has more than 1,500 rhinos, will begin on Wednesday after he successfully challenged the Department of Environmental Affairs’ refusal to hand over the permits that it had granted to him, enabling the sale, according to Van’s Auctioneers, which is organizing the auction. The court ruled in his favor on Sunday.