Gerhard Heyneke

Wildlife Rancher and Farmer

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

Harlequins is the 3rd oldest rugby club in SA. Town Council gave our club 28 days to restore it to farm land again - like it was before 1902 - because it is zoned for agriculture. No political party has taken responsibility yet . https://t.co/3qs2RhVM4t

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

Thank you for the brave support, @Agri_EC ! If we win the case, we have a fighting chance to get the better of the disease!

[Saai @Saai_org]

Saai, is objecting to the joint declaration made by Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen and the German Federal Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Regional Identity during the latter’s recent visit to South Africa.

In this declaration, the two ministers announced cooperation on the vaccination of livestock and wildlife against foot-and-mouth disease, including a commitment to explore the use of mRNA vaccine technology in livestock.

Saai wants to state unequivocally that most South African cattle producers and consumers will strongly resist the introduction of mRNA vaccines into the herds across South Africa.

The organisation believes that the science has not yet sufficiently demonstrated the long-term safety of mRNA technologies. These technologies were widely deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022, yet significant debate and unanswered questions remain regarding their broader medical consequences.

Saai also notes that countries such as Russia and China largely avoided the widespread use of mRNA vaccines during the pandemic, and did not experience the same scale of unexplained medical concerns that have been raised elsewhere.

Beyond the scientific debate, Saai warns that consumer confidence will be severely affected if mRNA technologies are introduced into livestock production. Millions of consumers who experienced the trauma of lockdowns and the severe infringement of personal freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, because they avoided vaccination with mRNA, will be deeply concerned about the possibility of being exposed to these technologies indirectly through the meat and milk they consume.

This announcement also raises broader concerns within the farming community. Saai has previously challenged the Department of Agriculture and the Democratic Alliance on their policy direction regarding “fake meat”, particularly the regulations on meat analogues published in June 2025.

Many farmers now view the potential introduction of mRNA vaccines into the livestock sector, alongside these regulatory developments, as part of a broader policy direction that could undermine traditional livestock production and place further pressure on family farmers.

Recent events in Europe demonstrate how seriously farmers view such policy shifts. Hundreds of thousands of farmers in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have taken to the streets to protest policies they believe threaten their livestock sectors.

Saai will therefore spare no effort in demanding full transparency regarding any research, agreements or policy processes related to mRNA vaccine technologies in livestock. Farmers and consumers alike have the right to know exactly what technologies are being introduced into the food production system.

Saai remains committed to protecting both producers and consumers from the introduction of technologies that may have uncertain consequences for animal health, animal products, and ultimately human consumers.

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

@africanfarming_ The real price of both the Biogenisis Bago and Dollvet vaccines is around R45 per shot. That is what farmers would have paid if the state didn't grab the vaccines - so where do the "profits" go?

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

@landbou @DOAgov_ZA Here it is! Indeed the vaccines which arrived over the weekend have been grabbed by government, but are still in cold storage because the department failed to pay for it! https://t.co/vWy0U6sSR9

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

This is a spot-on summery of the Foot-and-mouth vaccine issue and the clashing interests around it https://t.co/I4M4IxHgng

[Willem Petzer @willempet]

"Steenhuisen claims his department rolled out 2 million FMD vaccines. That 2 million number is counted from 2007. Almost 20 years. He's been minister for less then 2 years. Some of this cattle had died already." - @FrancoisRosso15, SAAI CEO

Steenhuisen ploeg met ANC kallers...

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

We will not solve foot&mouth as long as the state has a monopoly on controlling the vaccines, and the counter strategy. The R500mil which went missing will haunt the @DOAgov_ZA and undermine trust in them until transparency prevails https://t.co/7kY0Ayi4ll

[Roland Schoeman @Rolandschoeman]

Michael, your thread is long, polished, and legally informed. I’ll give you that. But legal literacy without intellectual honesty is just propaganda with footnotes.

You claim Section 9(2) of the Constitution allows “measures to advance those disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.” Fair enough. But what you intentionally avoid is the distinction between redress and retribution. Redress repairs. Retribution punishes. South Africa today isn’t correcting disadvantage, it’s just enforcing state-sanctioned exclusion based on skin colour, the very principle apartheid was built on.

You insist no laws “ban” whites from jobs or universities. You’re playing with semantics. You know very well that in practice, Employment Equity quotas and BEE frameworks functionally exclude white South Africans from meaningful participation across sectors. Ask the thousands denied medical internships, bursaries, contracts, or police jobs. When race is the disqualifier, intent is irrelevant it’s discrimination.

Let’s also stop pretending transformation is race-neutral when BEE codes, public procurement targets, and preferential hiring explicitly use racial classification as the basis for access. If it were truly about socio-economic status, it wouldn’t require a tick box for skin colour.

As for your “facts”:
• 7.7% of the population, 70% of the wealth a tired stat with no nuance. You conflate private wealth with liquid access, ignoring generational home ownership, inflation, or the fact that most white South Africans are working class without trust funds, land, or capital.
• 70% of land in white hands? Let’s clarify: 80% of that is agricultural or commercially zoned, not luxury estates. Black ownership through trusts, traditional councils, and urban housing isn’t counted in these metrics. You’re manipulating numbers to fuel outrage, not inform.

Most telling is your final line: “Opening doors for others doesn’t shut yours.” Except that’s exactly what’s happening. BEE, AA, and quota-based hiring don’t open new doors, they slam shut existing ones based solely on pigmentation.

You want transformation? Start with merit-based equity that targets poverty, not colour. Because what you’re defending isn’t justice, it’s the illusion of moral high ground, used to justify the legalised bigotry of today.

Stop gaslighting people who see it for what it is.

[Dirk Hermann @SolidariDirk]

Rasfeite oor Eskom wat jou woedend sal maak.

Eskom betaal bykans 30% meer vir aankope as gevolg van swartbemagtigingspremies. Dit het 'n direkte invloed op hul vermoë om kragstasies in stand te hou.
Die verryking van die swart elite hou ons almal – swart en wit – in die donker.

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

1 After Trump's swipe at SA for it's BEE practices and land expropriation law, it looks like a school coming out as politicians and their praise singers try to explain, appease, soothe and undertake responsible implementation of the new act on expropriation with nil compensation

[Theo de Jager @TheoDJager]

@WandileSihlobo @jsteenhuisen The sector is crying out for clarity on whether the controversial agricultural master plan, which excluded a majority of stakeholders, will be pushed by signatories to further divide farmers organisations, or whether profitability and sustainability can also be accommodated in it

[Magnus Heystek @MagnusHeystek]

Can’t wait to buy some shares on the JSE tomorrow morning….prices can only go up.

[Gerhard Heyneke @HeynekeGerhard]

@TheoDJager 😪😪🙏🙏☘️

[Gerhard Heyneke @HeynekeGerhard]

@FattebertJ He got what he deserves? What do you mean?

[Gerhard Heyneke @HeynekeGerhard]

@s_guilbeault You are positively lost.

[Wildlife Ranching SA @WRSAwild]

🦓🌍Discover #WRSA: The foremost entity of the 🇿🇦 Agro Sustainable #biodiversity #Wildlife Economy! 🇿🇦

With private land we ensure no indigenous animal faces extinction within our borders. 🚫🦏

Join us in the circle of life! Support WRSA: https://t.co/4BnJV5hiEB

#ourgame

[Gerhard Heyneke @HeynekeGerhard]

@droteha @AmyDickman4 @RVouffo @HenrySmithUK You are uninformed. Even if it is an uncomfortable truth, you also have to look at the other side of the coin.

[Gerhard Heyneke @HeynekeGerhard]

@AmyDickman4 It was shocking to watch this. So much ignorance.