A Free State man has been arrested after allegedly refusing to grant state officials access to his property to conduct a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) inspection.
By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
The 54-year-old man from Heilbron is due to appear in the local magistrate’s court on 4 February on a charge of contravening the Animal Health Act (Act 35 of 1984), according to police spokesperson Sergeant Josephine Rani. It is not known whether he will remain in custody until his court appearance.
The man’s property falls within a 10km radius of a farm where foot-and-mouth disease had been detected, but he reportedly would not allow his cattle to be inspected.
In terms of Section 16 of the Act, authorised officers of the Directorate of Animal Health are granted extensive powers relating to access, inspection, seizure and control of land, animals and objects in order to combat disease. These powers enable them to enforce control measures, take samples, remove animals and restrict movement. This provides comprehensive authority for the prevention and eradication of diseases, as further set out in related sections of the Act, including Section 9 (“Control measures”) and Section 17 (“Seizures by director”).
African Farming has approached the Free State Department of Agriculture for comment. This article will be updated once a response is received.
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WATCH | Neo Brian Rasehlo talks to us about FMD (Setswana and English)
