The Gauteng High Court ruled on Monday, that farmers can procure and administer own Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines.
Francois Rossouw from Southern Africa Agricultural initiative (SAAI) wrote on social platforms in response to this outcome that “the Court found government could not show any lawful prohibition on private vaccination. It found the Section 10 scheme was no substantive defence.“
The court issued an order for John Steenhuisen, the Minister of Agriculture, to allow farmers to privately procure vaccines, without the State vet.
The court also ordered Steenhuisen, the Director-General, and the Director of Animal Health, not to intervene in commercial relationships between farmers and importers of vaccines.
Moreover, the court ordered Steenhuisen and senior department officials to pay the applicants’ legal costs.
South Africa currently has over 1,300 confirmed cases and more than 24,000 disease incidents of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).
The hardest hit areas include the food basket- in the Free State, North West, and Gauteng.
Steenhuisen announced a mass national vaccination campaign that has secured 13.5 million doses of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines.
A batch of 3.5 million dose consignment of Biogénesis Bagó Foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccines arrived on Sunday.
Picture: Supplied