Saai welcomes final court order on foot-and-mouth disease: Legal battle concluded, focus shifts to practical solutions
Saai welcomes final court order on foot-and-mouthdisease: Legal battle concluded, focus shifts to practical solutions
The Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai) welcomes thefinalisation of the legal proceedings concerning private-sector participationin combating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), following the decision by theGauteng High Court in Pretoria on 5 October 2026 to formally make thesettlement agreement between the relevant parties an order of court.
The court order follows the settlement reached on 9 July2026 between Saai, Sakeliga, Free State Agriculture and the relevant governmentinstitutions. This brings to a close an important legal dispute concerning theability of livestock owners to participate directly in combating foot-and-mouthdisease.
The agreement confirms that livestock owners and managersmay, subject to the necessary authorisation and prescribed requirements,vaccinate their own animals against FMD. It also provides for a simplifiedauthorisation process under which applications that meet the requirements aredeemed approved within five days.
Of particular significance is the fact that the Minister ofAgriculture, the Department of Agriculture and Onderstepoort BiologicalProducts have relinquished any existing exclusive rights to the importation anddistribution of FMD vaccines and have undertaken not to insist on suchexclusive rights in the future.
This creates opportunities for greater private-sectorparticipation in making vaccines available, while remaining subject toapplicable legal and regulatory requirements. The agreement also does notdetract from the government's own vaccination programme.
According to Francois Rossouw, CEO of Saai, the final courtorder represents an important step towards a more practical and collaborativeapproach to combating animal diseases.
“Farmers are the people who bear the immediate consequencesof foot-and-mouth disease. They lose income, their farming operations aredisrupted, and their ability to protect their livestock is restricted. It istherefore essential that farmers are not solely dependent on the state, but arealso empowered to take responsibility and access solutions themselves.
“The purpose of this litigation was never to undermine thestate's role in combating animal diseases. It was to ensure that the privatesector and livestock owners are allowed to be part of the solution,” saysRossouw.
Saai emphasises that the court order does not mean thebattle against foot-and-mouth disease is over. The disease remains a seriousthreat to South Africa's livestock industry, and the success of the agreementwill ultimately depend on its effective implementation, the availability ofvaccines, and cooperation between government, veterinarians, the private sectorand farmers.
“We are pleased that this litigation is now behind us. Thetime, money and energy spent on court proceedings should rather be directedtowards solving the problems farmers face every day.
“Saai will continue to protect the interests of familyfarmers and promote practical solutions that enable farmers to safeguard theirfarming operations, their livestock and their livelihoods,” Rossouw concludes.
Saai thanks Sakeliga, Free State Agriculture and the otherparties involved for their cooperation in bringing this matter to a successfulsettlement.
The final court order is available here: https://bit.ly/FMDCourtOrder
Farmers can register their intention to vaccinate on anyof the following platforms:
-https://www.iplanagri-iq.co.za/FMD-Vaccine-Portal
-https://www.buffalo.vet/
-https://bloutand.co.za/
