Saai, an organisation which is committed to the protection and promotion of the rights, values, ideals and needs of family farmers, which includes horse owners, has decided to take further legal steps with regards to the unfair pricing practices around the AHS vaccine. Our action entails the following:

• The availability of AHS is a huge concern and horse owners require an urgent response from OBP as to the quantity of vaccines that has been produced for the 2022 season.

• Compared to other crucial animal vaccines the AHS vaccine is 36 to 55 times more expensive. This is price gouging- when a seller increases the prices of goods to a level much higher than what is considered reasonable or fair. The price of the AHS vaccine must be investigated by the Competition Commission.

• Farmers are not allowed to do AHC vaccinations themselves but need to get a veterinarian for that, apparently because of the need to maintain the cold chain. That doesn’t make sense as farmers are entrusted to keep the cold chain when vaccinating sheep and cattle and other livestock. As competent and able owners, breeders and trainers who are proven capable of administering other vaccines, they should be allowed to administer the AHS vaccine too.

The issues at hand are very serious and our campaign and request to the Competition Commission will be much stronger if we add your voice to the campaign. Sign here: