{"id":862634,"date":"2026-06-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=862634"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:09:47","slug":"big-changes-on-the-cards-for-south-africas-biggest-and-most-consumed-meat-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/862634\/big-changes-on-the-cards-for-south-africas-biggest-and-most-consumed-meat-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes on the cards for South Africa’s biggest and most consumed meat industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture has taken steps to allow vaccinations against bird flu, to move away from the mandated mass culling of both sick and healthy birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has taken steps to amend the Animal Diseases Regulations (R.2026 of 1986) to permit the use of vaccinations against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative aims to provide the poultry sector with a sustainable strategy for combating bird flu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision follows a formal objection submitted by the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) under Section 23 of the Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAPA pointed out a breakdown within the department’s Directorate of Animal Health, noting a persistent failure to offer practical or affordable solutions to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and to prevent potential crises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poultry producers claimed that the department had them trapped in an outdated system that mandated the mass culling of birds, leaving them without modern legal tools to safeguard their flocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree completely with the industry on the way forward, and as we are rebuilding our biosecurity infrastructure in South Africa that has been set aside for the last 20 years, we are going to have to change the way we do things,\u201d Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen told Moneyweb Radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Just as we have completely changed the policy on how we deal with Foot and Mouth Disease, so too do we need to look at completely changing the policies around how we deal with animal and plant diseases going forward as we rebuild that biosecurity ecosystem in South Africa,” he said in the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steenhuisen said that in 2023, around R10.5 billion worth of culling had to take place due to bird flu (HPAI), which had a huge impact on the farmers and the poultry industry, rippling into supply and value chains and resulting in higher costs for consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have to innovate around the way we handle animal and plant diseases; they are not going away.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steenhuisen announced that he has accepted the recommendations from the Section 23 Investigation Committee, which aim to resolve what he termed an administrative deadlock and modernise the country\u2019s approach to disease control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasised that the report offers an opportunity to move away from the traditional \u201cstamping-out\u201d model, which mandates the destruction of both healthy and sick birds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it advocates for a state-regulated vaccination defence plan intended to enhance disease prevention and control strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our poultry farmers need direct support, and we are changing policy to give them a legal mechanism to protect their livelihoods,” said Steenhuisen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The old regulations forced the industry to destroy flocks unnecessarily, which harmed agricultural businesses and raised food prices for consumers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new framework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steenhuisen said that by changing the policy, they would be giving producers the legal right to use verified scientific tools to protect their farms, protect agricultural jobs, and secure affordable food for the public.
The formalisation of an HPAI Vaccination Framework under the Animal Diseases Act of 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984) will significantly impact poultry operations in South Africa:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Farmers will implement a combination of vaccination, biosecurity measures, and testing, which will eliminate the need for widespread bird culling and reduce financial losses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The department will either amend the Animal Diseases Regulations (R.2026) or issue a formal Section 9 control measure to establish a clear legal framework for how poultry farming entities must manage an HPAI outbreak once it is identified on their farms. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • The goal of this measure is to eliminate mixed enforcement rules that have caused confusion and hindered the capacity to quickly eradicate the disease.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • The new regulations will aim to balance disease control requirements, allowing both large commercial operations and smallholder farmers the ability to effectively handle HPAI outbreaks on their farms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          The department\u2019s role will include establishing and managing national surveillance systems for HPAI, conducting laboratory testing, and ensuring compliance with regulations during outbreaks on farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The Minister has directed the department to implement interim control measures immediately, while the policy shift is being formalised through the necessary statutory instruments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          He said this is being done to ensure an orderly transition for the sector. Additionally, a deadline has been set for the gazette’s publication.
          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Big changes are on the cards for South Africa’s avian industry, as vaccinations against bird flu may become a possibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":862672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[22559,20316],"class_list":["post-862634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-agriculture-minister-john-steenhuisen","tag-south-african-poultry-association-sapa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862634"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862705,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862634\/revisions\/862705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}