South African court lifts 2009 ban on domestic rhino horn trade

A rhino is kept in an enclosure at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province August 26, 2014. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's High Court has lifted a ban on the local trade in rhino horn imposed by the government in 2009 after finding that the state had not followed the process of public participation before imposing the moratorium, media reported on Thursday.

The ruling came after an application by two of South Africa's largest rhino farmers who wanted to overturn government's moratorium on the domestic trade in rhino horn, the online editions of the IOL News and the Citizen said.