FAQ’s

Voluntary FMD vaccination for farmers is governed by the Settlement Agreement in Sakeliga NPC, Suider-Afrika Agri Inisiatief NPC and Free State Agriculture v the Minister of Agriculture & Others — High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, Case No. 2026-141253, dated 9 July 2026, read with Section 3 of the Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984.

Bloutand’s FMD Register is built to help you complete that structured process and report to the NDA. Always confirm current requirements with your State Veterinarian — practice can change.

In plain terms, the settlement means that owners and managers of cloven-hoofed livestock may voluntarily vaccinate their own animals against Foot-and-Mouth Disease, provided they follow the authorisation and notice rules in the agreement and the Animal Diseases Act — instead of being left only with informal or unclear paperwork.

• You may apply for farmers’ authorisation under Section 3.
• If you comply fully, the application is deemed approved within 5 days (clause 4).
• You must give written notice at least 5 days before vaccinating (clause 6).
• You must lodge a sworn declaration within 14 days after vaccinating (clause 7).
• You remain responsible for lawful vaccine, cold chain, competence, and accurate reporting.

This is a summary of the settlement framework — not legal advice.

Under the settlement-aligned workflow:

1. Authorisation / registration — the owner (or manager acting for the owner) applies and confirms competence and responsibility. Applicants are deemed suitably qualified under Section 3(1)(a)(i) to administer lawfully obtained FMD vaccine unless found not fit (clause 2).
2. 5-day notice — written notice to the Provincial Director: Veterinary Services or the applicable State Veterinarian at least 5 days before administering the vaccine (clause 6), with deemed approval of the application within 5 days subject to full compliance (clause 4).
3. Vaccination day — administer and record brand, batch/lot, method, cold chain, and animals.
4. 14-day sworn declaration — present a sworn declaration confirming the vaccination within 14 days after administering the vaccine (clause 7).

Bloutand walks you through these stages and can sync authorisation, notification, and vaccination declaration imports to the NDA FMD Reporting System (fmd.nda.gov.za).

No. The FMD Register produces compliance records and helps you complete the settlement-style process (authorisation → notice → vaccination → sworn declaration) and, where enabled, report to the NDA. It does not replace advice from a veterinarian, attorney, or the Department of Agriculture / State Veterinary Services. You remain responsible for the accuracy of what you submit and for complying with the Act and any court order conditions that apply to you.

Owners and managers of cloven-hoofed livestock may voluntarily vaccinate their own livestock against FMD if duly authorised by the Director: Animal Health under Section 3 of the Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984 (clause 1). In Bloutand, the applicant is recorded as either the owner of the animals or a manager acting for the owner, with identity and contact details suitable for authorisation and NDA reporting. If you are unsure whether you are entitled to apply, ask your State Veterinarian or legal adviser before proceeding.

As part of authorisation, the applicant undertakes that they have the knowledge, experience, and qualifications to vaccinate against FMD; have appropriate equipment and means to store (cold chain) and administer the vaccine; that the vaccine was lawfully manufactured, imported or procured; and that they undertake full responsibility for the vaccination. Authorisation may be withdrawn if you are not in full compliance, and may be terminated should FMD-vaccination-free status be sought without vaccination in future (WOAH). These are serious legal undertakings — do not proceed unless they are true for your situation.

Deemed approval (clause 4): subject to full compliance, applications are deemed approved within 5 (five) days.

Notice before vaccinating (clause 6): written notice must be given to the Provincial Director: Veterinary Services or the applicable State Veterinarian at least 5 (five) days before administering the vaccine (planned date, method, vaccine brand, animals, etc.).

In Bloutand these timelines are tracked from NDA acceptance where live reporting is enabled. You should still follow any instruction your State Vet gives you — deemed approval does not override a lawful refusal or additional conditions.

After animals are vaccinated, a sworn declaration confirming the vaccination must be presented within 14 (fourteen) days after administering the vaccine (Settlement clause 7). It affirms who was responsible, when and how animals were vaccinated, vaccine brand and batch/lot, cold-chain preservation, method, dosage, and the animals concerned. Bloutand’s FMD Register guides you to affirm those fields and submit the declaration (including to the NDA vaccination import where configured).

Yes. Authorisation includes an undertaking that the vaccine was lawfully manufactured, imported or procured, and that you have means for cold-chain storage (typically 2–8°C). On vaccination day and in the declaration you record brand, batch/lot, expiry, method, dosage, and how the cold chain was preserved. Using an unlawful product or breaking the cold chain can put you outside the compliance framework and create animal-health and legal risk.

Voluntary FMD vaccination can affect a country’s or zone’s official FMD status under WOAH (World Organisation for Animal Health) rules. The authorisation flow includes acknowledgement of those implications. Discuss trade, movement, and status consequences with your State Veterinarian before you vaccinate.

The Department’s NDA FMD Reporting System (fmd.nda.gov.za) is used to import authorisations, notifications (5-day notice), and vaccination declarations. Bloutand can submit these steps from each vaccination round so your farm record and the department’s system stay aligned. Farm coordinates are required for NDA notice/submit — set a pin or boundary in Farm Mapper first.

Yes. Bloutand’s FMD Register supports voluntary Foot-and-Mouth Disease vaccination compliance under the High Court settlement (Case No. 2026-141253). It guides you through authorisation, the 5-day notice, vaccination day recording, and the 14-day sworn declaration, and can import steps to the NDA FMD Reporting System. Open the module in the app under Compliance → FMD Farmers’ Authorisation at bloutand.app. This produces compliance records — it is not legal advice.

The Bloutand FMD Register is centred on voluntary FMD vaccination under the High Court settlement framework. When reporting to the NDA you may also select related reasons used by the department (for example booster vaccination, FMD infected, neighbour(s) infected, or within 10 km of an outbreak). Outbreak control directions from the State can impose additional or different legal duties — follow official veterinary instructions in those cases; do not rely only on the voluntary-settlement workflow.

Yes. In Bloutand, authorisation is confirmed afresh every time a round is created. Each round is its own compliance document covering that set of animals, notice, administration, and declaration. Do not assume an old authorisation covers a new round or a different group of animals.

For the legal effect of the High Court settlement and the Animal Diseases Act on your farm, contact your State Veterinarian, Provincial Veterinary Services, and/or a qualified legal adviser. For help using Bloutand’s FMD Register, contact Bloutand on 076 081 7036 or herd@bloutand.co.za.

1. Bluetooth ear tags — Each animal wears a durable, weather-resistant ear tag that sends a Bluetooth signal.
2. Portable gateway — Gateways placed at strategic points collect tag signals and send the data securely to Bloutand.
3. Bloutand app — You see herd counts, whereabouts, health and activity context, and individual animal details on your phone or computer.

Yes. When tagged cattle come within range of a gateway, their presence is logged automatically. Instead of walking the camp and counting by hand — which can take an hour or more and is easy to get wrong — you open the app and see who is present, who has not been seen recently, and your overall herd picture in seconds.

Yes. You can set customisable alerts for cattle movements outside designated areas or other events you care about. Instant alerts on your phone help you respond faster to security and management issues, protecting your investment.

You get a comprehensive view of your herd’s whereabouts and status, tag management and counts, individual cattle profiles (age, breed, medical history, breeding information, and more), maps and farm context, analytics, and alerts — so you can make decisions from accurate data, not guesswork.

Gateways need a way to send data to Bloutand (typically Wi‑Fi or cellular, depending on your hardware setup). Your phone needs internet to load the live dashboard when you are away from the farm. We help you plan gateway placement and connectivity for your camps during onboarding — contact us to discuss your farm’s coverage.

Gateways scan for nearby tags on a regular cycle and upload detections to Bloutand. When you open the app you see the latest presence and last-seen information for each animal. Exact scan intervals depend on gateway configuration; the goal is timely herd visibility without draining tag batteries.

Bloutand is a smarter, simpler way for livestock farmers to manage their herds from a phone or computer. Using Bluetooth ear tags and portable gateways, our system helps you count cattle automatically, see herd status at a glance, and receive alerts when animals move beyond set boundaries — so you stay informed and in control without hours of manual counting.

Bloutand is built for South African cattle farmers and farm teams — from smaller herds to large commercial operations. Farm owners, managers, field workers, vets, and transporters can each use the system with the right level of access for their role.

GPS collars track individual animals continuously but are typically expensive, heavier, and need more frequent battery changes. Bloutand uses lightweight Bluetooth ear tags that work with gateways placed where your cattle naturally pass (water troughs, gates, kraals). You get reliable presence, counting, and alerts at a fraction of the cost of fitting every animal with GPS, with long-life tags designed for farm conditions.

You use the Bloutand app in your mobile browser or on a computer — no special handset is required. The ear tags and gateways do the on-farm sensing; your phone is how you view counts, profiles, maps, and alerts.

Bloutand is based in Monument Park, Pretoria, and is designed for South African livestock operations — including local compliance needs such as RMIS traceability and FMD vaccination workflows. Contact us if you farm elsewhere and want to discuss suitability for your region.

A typical setup includes Bluetooth ear tags for the animals you want to track and one or more portable gateways placed where cattle pass daily. You then use the Bloutand app on your phone or computer. We help size the right package for your herd and farm layout.

Tags are durable and weather-resistant, designed to be applied like a normal identification ear tag. They communicate with nearby Bloutand gateways so each animal can be identified and counted automatically without you scanning every animal by hand.

Place portable gateways at locations cattle visit regularly — for example water troughs, feeding stations, kraal gates, or camp entry points. When a tagged animal comes near, the gateway registers its presence and sends that information to your Bloutand account.

It depends on herd size, camp layout, and how much coverage you want. Many farms start with gateways at key choke points (water, kraals, main gates) and add more as they expand. Gateways are portable, so you can move them when you rotate camps or focus on a specific herd.

Bloutand Bluetooth tags are designed for long field life — typically multi-year battery life under normal use — so you are not constantly swapping batteries the way you often must with GPS collars. Exact life depends on tag model and configuration; ask us for the current specification when you order.

Bluetooth range depends on terrain, vegetation, and how the gateway is mounted. In open conditions, tags communicate with gateways over a useful farm distance measured in tens to hundreds of metres (and in some configurations longer). We design placement around where cattle actually walk so you get reliable detections without needing line-of-sight to every corner of every camp.

Contact Bloutand and we will recommend a starter package for your herd size. Phone 076 081 7036 or email herd@bloutand.co.za. You can also request hardware from inside the Bloutand app shop once you have an account.

Yes. Whether you run a few dozen cattle or several thousand, you can start with a core set of tags and gateways and expand as needed. Add tags for more animals or move and add gateways when your camps or oversight needs change.

Yes. Cattle profiles let you add and edit details such as age, breed, medical history, breeding information, and more. Linking each profile to an ear tag means counting and monitoring stay tied to the real animal on your farm.

Assign tags to animals, manage which tags belong to your farm, and count individual ear tags linked to your herd. When a tag is detected at a gateway, Bloutand can show that animal as present and update last-seen information.

The app highlights animals that have not been detected recently compared with the rest of the herd. Combined with boundary and custom alerts, this helps you notice problems days sooner than waiting for the next full manual count.

Yes. Bloutand supports farm and herd organisation so you can keep animals, gateways, and maps structured the way you actually farm — including multiple properties or herds under one account with the right team access.

You can configure alerts for cattle moving outside designated areas and other pre-determined events relevant to security and management. The aim is fewer surprises: know sooner when something looks wrong so you can act from your phone.

Yes. Dashboards and analytics help you see herd trends over time — counts, detections, and status — so decisions are based on accurate information about the herd and individual animals, not memory alone.

Yes. Bloutand includes RMIS (Red Meat Information System) workflows for livestock movement and national traceability — including participants, transfers between legal entities, and movement history — so you can manage compliance alongside day-to-day herd monitoring.

RMIS is South Africa’s red meat information and traceability system. It supports registering participants and recording livestock movements so animals can be traced through the supply chain. Using Bloutand’s RMIS tools helps keep operational counting and official movement records in one place.

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a GS1 identifier for a physical location or legal entity. It is commonly required for RMIS registration and livestock movement traceability. GLNs are issued by GS1 South Africa, not by Bloutand. Contact GS1 ZA for current pricing and application steps; we can advise how the GLN fits into your Bloutand / RMIS setup.

GLN fees are set by GS1 South Africa and depend on business size and whether you need a single location number or a company prefix. Treat published ranges as estimates only — always confirm current fees with GS1 ZA (gs1za.org, 011 789 1540).

Bloutand is built to support farm operations and national traceability needs together — animal identity via tags, movement and participant workflows via RMIS, and clear farm records in the app. Ask us about your abattoir, feedlot, or export requirements when you get started.

Create your farm in the app, then define boundaries and key infrastructure so alerts and maps match real camps and facilities. You can register farms using official South African cadastral farm portions where available, instead of only drawing boundaries by hand.

Where national cadastral data is available, you can search and select official farm portions (or agricultural holdings) on a map. Bloutand uses those geometries as your farm boundary — more accurate than freehand sketches and easier to keep consistent with title and portion identity.

You can still set up your farm using map tools (for example pin-drop or drawn boundaries) so gateways, alerts, and herd views work for your operation. Contact support if you need help choosing the best approach for your property.

Yes. Farm mapping supports infrastructure and context that help you place gateways wisely and understand where detections are coming from — water points, gates, and other landmarks that matter day to day.

Sign up at bloutand.app using a supported login method (email/password, Google, or phone, depending on current options). Once registered, you can set up farms, invite your team, and link hardware.

Yes. Bloutand supports multiple roles — for example farm owner, manager, vet, field worker, transporter, and viewer — so each person sees what they need without giving everyone full admin control.

Use the “Forgot password” option on the bloutand.app login page to reset access via your registered email. If you still cannot sign in, contact herd@bloutand.co.za or call 076 081 7036.

Your account is protected with modern authentication, and herd data is stored in Bloutand’s secured cloud systems. Only users you invite to your organisation should access your farms. Contact us if you have specific security or privacy questions for your operation.

1. Contact us to discuss herd size and farm layout.
2. Order Bluetooth ear tags and gateways suited to your camps.
3. Create your account at bloutand.app.
4. Apply tags, place gateways, and set up farms and alerts in the app.
5. Start counting and monitoring from your phone.

Pricing depends on herd size, number of tags and gateways, and the package that fits your farm. Contact us for a quote tailored to your operation — 076 081 7036 or herd@bloutand.co.za — or use the contact form on this website.

Phone: 076 081 7036
Email: herd@bloutand.co.za
Location: Monument Park, Pretoria, 0181
Hours: Monday–Friday, 08h00–17h00

Yes. Reach out by phone or email and we will walk you through how Bloutand works for farms like yours — tags, gateways, the app, and what a typical rollout looks like.

Our team helps with setup questions, hardware guidance, and getting the most from counting, alerts, and compliance features. Office hours are Monday–Friday 08h00–17h00; message or call us and we will assist.

Go to https://bloutand.app on your phone or computer. Bookmark it for quick access after login.