South Africa has lost a bid to overturn a court ruling that could allow exports of legally harvested rhino horn, the private conservationist who brought the case said Friday.

Trade in rhino horn has been banned globally since 1977 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Supporters say the ban is vital to protect dwindling wild rhino populations from poaching, while advocates of legal trade argue that regulated sales of horn harvested from live animals could fund conservation and curb black-market demand.

Wicus Diedericks, owner of a 33 000-acre (13 355-hectare) game reserve in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, sued the government to compel it to authorise the export of more than 500 white rhino horns.

In 2025, the Northern Cape High Court ruled in his favour, finding that horn from captive-bred white rhinos bred for conservation purposes could qualify for export certificates, subject to legal requirements.

Diedericks said the same court had on Friday dismissed, with costs, the government’s application for leave to appeal that judgment.

“This historic decision validates the rights of private conservationists and breeding facilities to fund their critical, high-cost protection efforts,” he said in a statement.

“It is a decision that experts believe could save the species, sustainably fund conservation, and uplift rural communities across South Africa.”

The environment department told AFP that recently appointed minister David Maynier was “currently considering the judgment” and would decide whether to appeal Friday’s ruling.

British NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in May called Diedericks’ lawsuit “a reckless gambit”, saying it sought to circumvent the international ban on rhino horn trade and could increase demand, weaken enforcement and fuel illegal trafficking.

South Africa is home to the world’s largest rhino population but is also a poaching hotspot, driven by demand for rhino horn in parts of Asia, where it is used in traditional medicine and as a status symbol.