BELFAST FARMERS WIN COURT CASE OVER SNOTSIEKTE
Three cattle farmers from Belfast have won their court case against businessmen with a game farm after their wildebeest caused significant damage due to malignant catarrhal fever, commonly known as “snotsiekte”.
The Gauteng high court has ruled that the respondents must ensure within 60 days that the wildebeest cannot come closer than a kilometre to the adjacent cattle farms. They must also pay the applicants’ legal costs.
The applicants were Sizwe Khoza, Mari van Rooyen and Frans Allers, cattle farmers with farms bordering the game farm.
The respondents were Rhys Griffiths, his son Richard, and the enterprises in whose names the game farm is registered.
In the application, the farmers requested that the respondents be prohibited from keeping black or blue wildebeest after several cattle died due to “snotsiekte”.
Judge JJ Strijdom said in his ruling that it would be unreasonable to expect the respondents to remove the black wildebeest from the farm since all parties have a right to fair use of their farms. However, to comply with the Animal Diseases Act (Act 35 of 1984), which imposes an obligation on owners and managers to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of animal diseases from their property, the wildebeests must be relocated.
Source : https://www.africanfarming.com/news/belfast-farmers-win-court-case-over-snotsiekte/