John Steenhuisen under siege

Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture have sent a formal letter of demand to the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen.

This legal action is related to the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, which is ravaging cattle and dairy farmers across South Africa.

Experts have regularly warned that foot-and-mouth disease is out of control in South Africa and poses an existential threat to livestock farmers.

The disease was present in South Africa for a few years. However, it exploded into a national disaster in early 2025.

Infected cattle from KwaZulu-Natal were sold at an auction, and the virus was transported by unsuspecting buyers into Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

The government failed to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, and it is currently active in seven provinces.

The livestock industry is under extreme pressure. Export markets are restricted, and local meat and dairy prices are expected to rise sharply due to decreased production.

Steenhuisen announced plans to vaccinate all the cattle in South Africa from Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) starting in February 2026.

Despite these plans, many experts said the ambitious vaccination project is unlikely to succeed, and a more urgent response is needed.

The problem for farmers is that they are prohibited from buying vaccines and vaccinating their livestock.

Foot-and-mouth disease is classified as a state-controlled disease, which means only the government may procure and distribute vaccines.

Therefore, farmers are prohibited from sourcing or administering vaccines themselves, even if they can afford them.

This means that even when animals are dying in front of their eyes, they must wait for the government to stop the crisis.

Letter of demand sent to John Steenhuisen

Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture have now taken the fight to the next level by serving a letter of demand to Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen.

They want confirmation that livestock owners and the private sector generally may procure and administer foot-and-mouth vaccines.

The Minister, the Department, and the Chief Director of Veterinary Services should issue this written confirmation.

They must allow vaccine procurement and administration based on the private sector’s own considerations without being blocked by state gatekeeping and red tape.

“We have given the Minister and his colleagues until Friday, 30 January 2026, by close of business to confirm whether they agree or not,” Sakeliga said.

This step follows Sakeliga’s announcement last week that it would take measures against the government’s obstruction of effective responses to the outbreak.

“Allowing private vaccination would not impede the state’s efforts to respond to the foot-and-mouth outbreak,” it said.

There is more than enough vaccine available for import, and suppliers are willing and able to supply to the private sector.

Private participation in vaccination would enable immediate, decentralised, and widespread responses by those most directly affected.

 It added that the Department of Agriculture is unable to administer the prescribed vaccines to livestock in the affected areas.

“It would be irrational to prohibit livestock owners from administering foot-and-mouth vaccinations at their own initiative,” it said.

SAAI added that its sole objective is to ensure that rational and effective regulation of foot-and-mouth disease is applied.

The solutions, it explained, should be focused on protecting the livelihoods of family farmers across South Africa.

“The foot-and-mouth disease crisis has moved beyond briefing sessions and good intentions. It now requires decisive action,” it said.

Statement from John Steenhuisen

The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, and the Department of Agriculture note with concern the legal letter received from Saai, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture demanding owners of livestock to be allowed to privately administer vaccines and which is also threatening legal action.

The department has further observed various social media, WhatsApp and SMS campaigns from these groups advertising legal action against the State, soliciting donations for an impending court case, and using the war on Foot and mouth disease (FMD) to drive membership recruitment.

Foot and mouth disease is a controlled animal disease governed strictly by the Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984). Minister Steenhuisen warns that the department is obliged to follow the law in this regard. Litigation, in the midst of a serious outbreak, now seeks to challenge the very legislative framework and obligations required by the State to protect the national herd.

While anybody is free to approach the courts at any time, this legal venture is most unfortunate as it seeks to attack the Act under which the State is about to procure vaccines and roll out the FMD plan. This plan was formulated by the Ministerial Task Team made up of private and public sector scientists, veterinarians and academics.

The rollout of this plan, along with clear immediate, medium- and long-term timeframes, was announced by Minister Steenhuisen a fortnight ago. It marks the first time in 30 years that the State has a clear roadmap to defeat FMD.

The State has already acquired, monitored and administered two million vaccines from the Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) to date. Additionally, the issuing of permits for private companies to import vaccines, as local agents, has already commenced. Import permits for the Dollvet vaccine were issued to Dunevax, and an additional import permit to import the Biogénesis Bagó vaccine is imminent.

However, the department warns that this progress is now at risk. The threatened court action could well derail the purchasing and rollout of vaccines while the Saai/Sakeliga/Free State Agriculture case moves through the court process and the department waits to obtain a clear directive from the court in this matter.

Technical responses required by officials and veterinarians within the department, to answer such court challenge, will divert critical veterinary and departmental resources away from the frontline fight against FMD. In addition, financial resources that could go towards vaccine purchase or personnel recruitment will have to be diverted to answer the court challenge.

The department maintains that claims proposing a vaccine free-for-all is short-sighted and reckless and flies in the face of established international and local precedence for disease control.

We have already seen the disastrous effects of unfettered access to vaccines that have been illegally imported into KwaZulu-Natal by certain farmers and the serious risk this has posed.

The Scientific Path to FMD-Free Status is very clear. In order to regain the “FMD-free status with vaccination” from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), South Africa must prove there has been no virus transmission for at least 12 months.

This requires a strictly controlled vaccination rollout; official surveillance; strict movement controls and systematic vaccination coverage that is able to be documented and verified.

Without centralised monitoring and State-led control over the process, the country will fail to achieve this goal, causing long-term damage to agricultural exports and negating the entire strategy of vaccination.

The private sector, industry bodies and others have been included in every step of the way; from the initial lekgotla on FMD to the Ministerial Task Team and now also in the FMD Industry Coordination Council. The department has furthermore already committed to working with private veterinarians and animal technicians as the vaccine rollout proceeds.

“We urge the farming community to be wary of promises by lobby groups attempting to profit from the hardships farmers are currently enduring. These actions threaten a scientific framework designed to ensure the country wins the war against FMD once and for all.

“Now is not the time for distraction: what we need now is a united and full focus on dealing with the current crisis and rolling out with scale and fast track our national strategy on Foot and Mouth Disease containment. Once the immediate crisis has passed, organisations can then indulge in all manners of litigation. But in the immediate time, we must in move in a unified manner and with the speed and determination to contain the current outbreak. This is the way we will win the war against FMD,” Minister Steenhuisen emphasised.