National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004)RegulationsRegulations pertaining to threatened or protected terrestrial species and freshwater species, 2023 - effective 1 April 2023Section A: Provisions relating to Listed Threatened or Protected SpeciesChapter 2 : Permit System for Listed Threatened or Protected SpeciesPart 6 - Requirements relating to elephant ivory, rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn32. Requirements for a permit authorizing possession of elephant ivory |
| (1) | A permit application relating to the possession of elephant ivory must be accompanied by the following: |
| (a) | information on the circumference, inner length and outer length measured from base to tip following the curve, measured in centimeters, of the elephant ivory; |
| (b) | where practically possible the weight of the elephant ivory, to the nearest gram; and |
| (c) | photographs of the elephant ivory. |
| (2) | The issuing authority must be satisfied that the quality of the photographs contemplated in subregulation 1(c) is adequate for easy identification of such ivory. |
| (3) | An official of the relevant issuing authority must conduct an inspection of the elephant ivory to verify the correctness of the information supplied by the applicant, prior to the issuance of the permit. |
| (4) | In addition to the requirement of regulation 4(1) of these Regulations, a person in possession of raw elephant ivory must apply to the issuing authority to have such ivory marked, if it is more than 20 cm in length and 1 kg or more in weight. |
| (5) | The issuing authority must, if it is satisfied that the possession of the raw elephant ivory is lawful— |
| (a) | mark the elephant ivory by means of punch-die, or if not practicable, with indelible ink, using the following formula— |
| (i) | the country-of-origin two letter ISO code and the fast two digits of the particular year, followed by a forward slash; |
| (ii) | the serial number for the particular year, followed by a forward slash; and |
| (iii) | the weight of the elephant ivory in kilograms; |
| (b) | record the weight, circumference at the base,as well as the inner and outer length from base to tip of such elephant ivory; and |
| (c) | capture all the information referred to in (a) and (b) above in a departmental database. |
| (6) | The issuing authority must mark the elephant ivory at the expense of the person applying for such marking. |
| (7) | An application contemplated in subregulation (1) in respect of elephant ivory that has already been marked in accordance with other applicable legal requirements, must be accompanied by proof of such marking. |
| (8) | The issuing authority must, if it is satisfied that the marking requirements contemplated in subregulation (5) have been met, accept the existing marking and reflect the marking information on the permit. |
| (9) | A person who is the owner of elephant ivory must first follow the procedure set out above in respect of the possession and marking of such elephant ivory, before he or she may process such elephant ivory in any manner, including but not limited to— |
| (a) | cutting; |
| (b) | carving; or |
| (c) | polishing. |