FMD vaccine case proceeds to court after mediation fails
Court-prescribed mediation was unsuccessful and the matter will now be heard on an urgent basis.
Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture will be in court next week to interdict the government's obstruction of private-sector procurement and administration of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines.
Sakeliga and our partners this week participated in court-prescribed mediation between the parties. This mediation was unsuccessful, and the matter will now be heard in the Pretoria High Court on an urgent basis, set down for Tuesday, 24 March 2026.
The hearing on Tuesday concerns the first stage of our legal strategy:
An interdict restraining the state from blocking private individuals and entities from administering registered or authorised FMD vaccines to livestock, and prohibiting the state from interfering in the contractual relationships between those who legally import the vaccine and their suppliers.
All court papers have been filed by the relevant parties, except for the Minister of Agriculture, whose confirmatory affidavit remains due.
A review application, constituting the second stage, will follow at a later stage. This review application will seek, inter alia, declaratory relief confirming that there exists no impediment to owners or managers of livestock administering the vaccine, alternatively reviewing and setting aside any such legal impediment that may exist or be created.
Background
The court application follows the failure by the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, to provide a lawful basis for his prohibition on private-sector vaccine procurement and administration, and the detrimental interference by agriculture officials in private vaccine import agreements.
The Minister's insistence on state control of all aspects of FMD vaccination, in contrast to the common practice of private procurement and administration of livestock vaccination for other diseases, has caused widespread distress and significant production losses across the agricultural sector.
Notably, nothing in our application would obstruct the minister or other officials from carrying out their lawful duties and efforts at combating foot-and-mouth disease.
If we are successful, however, farmers and others will immediately be free to vaccinate not only cattle but also other livestock at their own discretion and with their own resources, with reporting for tracking purposes as may be required. It remains remarkable that the minister opposes this parallel approach, insisting that the disease should only be combatted at the pace his own department can manage.
