POLOKWANE – Earlier this week, the South African Agri Initiative (Saai), and the Free State Agriculture and Sakeliga, launched an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court for an interim interdict against the Minister of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture and the Director of Animal Health, pending a review application in which the lawfulness of the minister’s decisions regarding Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine measures will be challenged.

The interdict application

According to a media release, Saai and its co-applicants intend to have the minister’s decisions and conduct relating to the FMD vaccine formally reviewed and set aside on the grounds that they are unlawful, irrational and unconstitutional.

Pending these review proceedings, urgent interim protection is sought from the court to prevent further and irreparable harm.

At the heart of the dispute is that the minister is currently applying measures that effectively prevent farmers and the private sector from helping to manage the FMD crisis in parallel with the state.

This approach includes obstructing private vaccine imports, interfering in existing commercial import and supply relationships, and effectively prohibiting farmers from having their own animals vaccinated.

These restrictions apply despite the minister’s acknowledgement that the disease is out of control, the declaration of a national disaster, and severe capacity constraints within the state.

Farmers seek right to protect herds

“We are in the middle of a financial disaster. Farmers are simply asking not to be prevented from protecting their own animals and their right to make a living. When state capacity is limited, it cannot be constitutionally justifiable to block private capacity,” said Francois Rossouw, CEO of Saai.

The interim interdict now sought would prevent the minister and relevant officials, pending the final review of the matter, from unreasonably interfering with farmers who are willing and able to lawfully obtain the FMD vaccine themselves and administer it to their own herds, and lawful private import, distribution and supply arrangements relating to the FMD vaccine.

“To prohibit farmers from acting in parallel with the state against Foot-and-Mouth Disease while losses are escalating is not only economically damaging, it is legally untenable. This case is about farmers’ right to act for themselves and to prevent further devastation of their herds and livelihoods. The court is now being asked to urgently provide legal certainty before further irreparable harm occurs,” Dr Theo de Jager, chairperson of the Saai Board said.

Former chairperson of Limpopo Bonsmara, Pieter Wentzel welcomed any efforts to expedite the response to the FMD crisis but pointed out that court applications will only delay positive outcomes while decisive and urgent action is required.

“Farmers now have to pay the price while control and regulation are deemed more important than solving the crisis,” he argued.