WILDLEX

At the heart of this matter were the customary rights to marine resources. The appellants were tried at the Magistrate court and later appealed to the High Court in Mthatha. The Hight Court, however, held that their conduct was unlawful because they had not applied for an exemption as contemplated in the MLRA, granting them a permit to fish.

The court held that the appellants were protecting the lives of the cubs and as well as their legal interest in the survical of the cubs as the owners of the very expensive animals.

The appellant was found to have been complicit in the transaction where a fake rhino horn was sold in a police trap for R350 000. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. The appellant unsuccessfully appealed to the Free State High Court against his conviction and sentence.

The second respondent (“the Minister”) had announced the complete suspension of the commercial fishing of wild abalone in accordance with section 16 of the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998. The applicants were rights holders in the industry. They lodged protests against the suspension.

This case involves a company (HBFI) that was involved in harvesting fish in excess of its quotas and buying illegally harvested fish from other catchers which violated inter alia the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 (‘the Marine Act’).

On 11 April 2017, the accused persons BIBE Jean & EMANE Marceline received a modern gun and food provisions from a certain MINYONO of Mfem Village to carry out elephant poaching in the Dja Biosphere Reserve.