GEORGE TOWN – Traditional pig farmers in Kg Selamat here have been given a reprieve by the Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP), as they are exempted from submitting their planning permissions.
The said permissions were supposed to be submitted by December 31 for the purpose of upgrading and modernising the farms.
Seberang Prai Mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud said the planning permissions are required in the Pig Breeding Enactment 2016 and Penang Pig Breeding Licensing Regulations 2020.
He told The Vibes that the exemption is to help pig farmers, but did not elaborate.
“Previously, pig farm owners only needed to have premises permits that were enforced under MBSP’s License Payment By-Law 1980.
“When there are new technologies and practices that are able to address the issue of pollution, they will be implemented under the said by-law.”
Under the enactment and regulations, pig farmers need to have planning permissions and building plans to convert their traditional livestock system to modern pig farming (MPF).
The main criteria of MPF are to have covered enclosures, a “zero discharge” waste management system, a buffer zone of 200m, and the adoption of good animal husbandry practices.
State Agrotechnology, Food Safety, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Norlela Ariffin said she will hold a meeting next Tuesday on pig farming licence applications.
“I will chair a meeting to review the applications (to see) whether they comply with the enactment.
“Besides that, I have also instructed the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) to lodge a police report regarding water pollution in Sg Kereh, and it is understood that the investigation is being carried out in accordance with Section 430 of the Penal Code.”
She said her team found that a pig manure treatment facility next to the farms in Kg Selamat has a temporary occupation licence.
She added that DID has built a small barrier across a ditch to slow down the flow of pig waste into padi fields, as well as the Sabo dam to oxygenate the river.
“Whatever we do, we must solve the root of the problem, which is the disposal of 887 tonnes of pig waste a day in Kg Selamat.”
The Vibes two days ago reported that nearly 50 pig farms in Kg Selamat, located in northern Seberang Prai, have been operating without a licence for more than 40 years.
The situation has resulted in over 1,000 residents, especially in neighbouring Kg Tok Bedu, suffering the stench emanating from Sg Kereh, which is polluted by effluents from these farms.
On October 16, The Vibes reported that 26 pig farms in Kg Selamat were found to be dumping sewage and animal faeces directly into the river.
The matter was brought up in the Penang Legislative Assembly the day before.
Norlela had said MBSP referred the farm owners to the courts.
“Through the enactment, the demolition of pig farms that do not follow the rules – including dumping waste into rivers – can be undertaken by local authorities,” she said when wrapping up her debate on the supply bill and a motion on 2021 development estimates.
While waiting for the law to take effect on January 1, she said, the state government, in collaboration with various agencies, has taken measures against river pollution caused by pig farms.
“Among them is cooperation with DID to set traps in drains so that pig farm waste does not directly enter the river.
“In addition, we are also working with Indah Water Konsortium and Tenaga Nasional Bhd to dispose of pig waste, including converting it for use in the biogas industry.”
The enactment also requires pig farms to become closed facilities, she said, adding that so far, 112 applications have been received to build such farms. – The Vibes, December 12, 2020
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