JOHANNESBURG - The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that farmers can now order and use Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines on their own, without the state's involvement.
The Minister of Agriculture has been blocked from interfering in the private commercial relations of those who lawfully import FMD vaccines into South Africa.
Groups including Sakeliga, Free State Agriculture, and the Southern African Agri Initiative went to court against the government to secure the right to get the vaccines on their own.
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The court found that there is no official law stopping private livestock owners from buying and using vaccines outside the areas set aside for disease control.
Farmers and agri-businesses can now source approved FMD vaccines from legal importers, manufacturers, or their agents.