By Charl van Rooyen
Permission will be granted for feedlots and abattoirs to vaccinate cattle against foot-and-mouth disease, giving them access to the 900 000 vaccine doses expected to arrive from Botswana this week, said Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen at the Milk Producers’ Organisation TMR Conference, held in Johannesburg from 8 to 10 June 2025.
R72 million has been earmarked in the budget to buy the vaccine, which is produced at a facility in Botswana. More doses are expected to be imported later.
“We are working with feedlots and other commercial stakeholders, such as abattoirs, to ensure they also have access to this vaccine,” Steenhuisen said.
He added that a specialist task force had been established in the Department of Agriculture to adopt a new, more effective approach – they’d realised that changes had to be made to how things were done in the past if they wanted different outcomes.
Some of the vaccine doses will be used in KwaZulu-Natal, and ongoing assessments and contact tracing are underway in Gauteng following recent outbreaks. Investigations are also being conducted to detect potential future cases.
Steenhuisen emphasised that the department had moved into top gear to enable the Agricultural Research Council to begin manufacturing vaccines locally. This, he said, would “reverse the decline of Onderstepoort” and re-establish it as a leading animal health institution – not only for the benefit of South Africa but also for other African countries and the rest of the world.
“We should be producing vaccines on a large scale and exporting them,” he said. “Without that, we will remain vulnerable.”
This includes protocols aimed at bringing the situation under control, hence the decision to build a new facility specifically for this purpose.
Steenhuisen emphasised that merely reacting to outbreaks like foot-and-mouth disease was not enough. The country had to adopt a proactive stance by maintaining robust biosecurity measures, which have significantly deteriorated in recent years.
He stressed the importance of full compliance with biosecurity protocols across the sector. Effective implementation depends on collaboration among all stakeholders, including local authorities and the police, particularly when it comes to regulating the movement of livestock.
Achieving food security and boosting meat exports rely, among other things, on strong biosecurity, he said. Foot-and-mouth disease has been a serious blow to the red meat industry – shutting down access to key markets and disrupting supply chains. Hard lessons have been learnt in the process.
“We cannot pursue prosperity without credible, science-based and trusted controls. This includes the establishment of joint command structures to enhance surveillance and enable rapid response, as well as a sustainable, nationally coordinated vaccination programme and strict biosecurity protocols at our borders, auctions and farms. Traceability is also non-negotiable.”
Vigilance and accountability
Steenhuisen was challenged on the lack of accountability, specifically why no one had yet been apprehended for illegally transporting livestock.
Roelie van Reenen, CEO of the Beefmaster Group, pointed out that the industry had suffered financial losses amounting to billions of rands, yet no prosecutions had taken place. “People are smuggling animals, and it seems they are never held accountable,” he said.
Steenhuisen agreed, noting that legislation is meaningless without enforcement. He insisted that offenders had to be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law”, and confirmed that he had engaged with the police to ensure that those responsible for the outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal face prosecution.
Dr Shaun Morris, director of the veterinary consultancy Octavoscene, who advises about 80 feedlots, said that biosecurity was not receiving the attention it urgently needed. Even veterinarians, he noted, were sometimes at fault, moving from farm to farm to conduct tests after suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease had been reported.
“Everyone must comply with the regulations,” he said. “If you’ve visited a farm where an outbreak was suspected, stay home. Every worker and every visitor poses a potential risk.”
He also criticised the lack of consequences for those who break regulations governing the transport of livestock. As an example, he cited an incident where cattle were moved from the quarantine area in Wakkerstroom to an auction in Mpumalanga. When the transporter was stopped, he simply rerouted and sold the cattle at another auction.
“In 2017, we were fortunate to be declared free of foot-and-mouth disease,” Dr Morris said. “But we lost that status, while neighbouring countries like Namibia and Botswana managed to retain theirs. We need competent people in key positions, people who can make informed decisions on disease control quickly and effectively. The red tape we’re dealing with now is only making things worse. If there are people who cannot do the job, they should step aside.”
