Court Order Seals End of Foot-and-Mouth Vaccine Dispute

The Pretoria High Court has made the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) settlement between the state and Sakeliga, SAAI and Free State Agriculture an order of court.

The settlement agreement, signed on 9 July 2026, now has the full force of a court order. This concludes the litigation that Sakeliga and our co-applicants initiated in January 2026 to remove state impediments to the private vaccination of livestock and the importation of FMD vaccines.

Sakeliga expresses its appreciation to our co-litigants, the many people, businesses, and organisations that offered support, and the Minister of Agriculture and participating state parties for their contributions to the settlement.

The favourable outcome underscores the value of litigation as a legitimate mechanism for the orderly resolution of focused disputes in the public interest.

What the order means

Effective immediately, the terms of the settlement are now enforceable as an order of the High Court.

As agreed in the July settlement, the state will recognise and support the right of livestock owners and managers to vaccinate their animals, with recordkeeping for purposes of monitoring FMD prevalence and countermeasures. Furthermore, no state party may claim a sole right to import or distribute FMD vaccines.

Resources

• Court Order and Settlement Agreement