Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

lcs · Joined: 05 Jul 2006 Posts: 65

Jan 1 ruling for farms They must adopt closed farming system for chickens, pigs

By Zulkifly Mohamad

Farm operators who could not afford to enclose their operations would be asked to close down, state Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Datuk Azahar Ibrahim said.

He said farm operators who defied the ruling would be taken to court, adding that the new ruling had been gazetted under the local council by-laws and would take effect from Jan 1.

“It was decided by the state government following strong public complaints over pollution and environment degradation caused by the farms.

“There are 440 chicken farms with a total population of 3.5 million chickens in Penang. This sector has an annual turnover of about RM320mil.

“There are 230 pig farms with a population of 290,000 and a turnover of about RM100mil

“It is a very big industry and Penang is one of the largest exporter of chicken and pork in the country,” Azahar told reporters after launching the JKKK Gerak Gempur and the state Agriculture Consumers Day at the Seberang Jaya public library in Butterworth yesterday.

Azahar said all the farm operators had been notified and briefed over the new ruling and they had to abide by it.

He said chicken and pig farms had to be sheltered and discharge from the farms must be treated, including water used by the farms.

He added that several pig farm operators had enclosed their operations while others had agreed to do so before the deadline.

“We have tolerated this for long and it is time for the operators to clean up their activities.

“We have received many complaints on the pollution caused by the farms’ activities,” he added.