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South聽Africa's Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal by the Department of Environmental Affairs to keep a moratorium on the domestic trade in聽rhino聽horn, according to court documents seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Pelham Jones, chairman of聽South聽Africa's Private聽Rhino聽Owners Association (PROA) which was one of the respondents in the case, told Reuters the decision meant that the sale of聽rhino聽horns was legal in聽South聽Africa.

"We welcome the Constitutional Court ruling, we believe it is a right we have been entitled to," he told Reuters.

A global ban in the horn trade, which is regulated by a United Nations convention, remains in place, which means horn acquired legally in聽South聽Africa聽cannot be exported from the country.

In May last year,聽South聽Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the government's bid to uphold a ban on the domestic trade in聽rhino聽horn put in place in 2009. The Constitutional Court was its last judicial option.

"This court ... has concluded that the application should be dismissed with costs as it lacks reasonable prospects of success," the Constitutional Court said in a brief order.

A spokeswoman for聽South聽Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs said it would issue a statement shortly.

The court action was initiated by private聽rhino聽ranchers and other associations, who say they need to sell horn to afford spiraling security costs which include armed patrols, helicopters and electric fencing.

According to the latest figures from PROA, more than 6,500聽rhinos are in private hands in South聽Africa, over a third of the national population.

Rhino聽horn can be harvested as it grows back and it can be removed from a tranquilised animal.

$2 billion stockpile

The government has not revealed the size of its聽rhino聽horn stockpile but PROA estimates its members have around 6 tonnes and reckons the state has close to 25 tonnes. The combined 31 tonnes could fetch $2 billion by some estimates.

Conservationists have expressed concerns that domestic buyers could also illicitly supply markets in Vietnam and China, where demand for聽rhino聽horn 鈥� coveted as an ingredient in traditional medicine 鈥� has triggered a wave of poaching.

The number of聽rhinos poached for their horns in聽South聽Africa聽fell 10 percent in 2016 to 1,054, the second straight year of decline according to government data, but conservationists have said the levels remain alarming.

Rhino聽poaching rates in聽South聽Africa聽had surged from 83 in 2008 to a record 1,215 in 2014 to meet red-hot demand in newly affluent Asian countries such as Vietnam.

South聽Africa聽has more than 80 percent of the world's聽rhino聽population with about 18,000 white聽rhinos and close to 2,000 black聽rhinos, which is why it has been at the frontline of the horn poaching crisis involving global crime syndicates.

But Jones said PROA was consulting with security firms to ensure "blood horns" did not enter the market.

"We are in an advanced stage of setting up a domestic trade desk and are consulting with economists to determine market prices," he told Reuters.

Trade will still be subject to regulation by the government, which issues permits. Potential domestic buyers could include those who see聽rhino聽horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it as a decoration.