Foot-and-mouth disease: State impediments removed, court case settled

The state and Sakeliga, Saai, and Free State Agriculture have settled the Foot-and-mouth Disease (FMD) litigation on terms that facilitate private procurement and administration of FMD vaccines.

The settlement follows the Pretoria High Court's interim order of 25 May 2026, which had already opened a court-protected route to private procurement and administration.

Altogether, the litigation and its settlement have now resulted in a process by which the state will recognise and support the right of livestock owners and managers to vaccinate their animals, with recordkeeping suited to the state’s purposes for monitoring FMD.

The parties to the settlement, including the Department and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), have also expressly relinquished any exclusive rights to the import and/or distribution of FMD vaccines. This paves the way for stable and competitive commercial supply chains to develop for FMD vaccines as already in place for countless other veterinary products.

The favourable outcome achieved underscores the value of litigation as a legitimate mechanism for the orderly resolution of focused disputes. Litigation in matters of public affairs involving public offices should not be misinterpreted as personal attacks. Public interest litigation is in principle perfectly compatible with maintaining productive relationships, and it remains a prudent course of action even if such relationships are initially strained.

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

Resources:

• Settlement agreement