Kota Kinabalu: The State government is urged to table a comprehensive amendment to the Animal Enactment 2015 at the earliest State Assembly sitting next year, stressing the need to strengthen regulatory oversight of the livestock sector.
Making the call, Upko Tamparuli assemblyman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau said the Sabah Veterinary Services Department (DVS) must be empowered to properly regulate poultry and pig farms, including having clear licensing authority and the power to enforce management standards that comply with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements.
This is because, he said all chicken and pig farms in Sabah, including those in the Tamparuli constituency and Tuaran district, are operating without licences from DVS, relying instead on business licences issued by district offices.
“Residents suffer from foul odours and, at the same time, experience water supply disruptions from the 70 million-litres-per-day (MLD) Telibong I plant that has been forced to shut down more than 30 times this year alone due to raw water contamination at the plant’s intake, with high ammonia levels caused by pollution from chicken farms located in Kg Kauluan.
“The absence of proper regulatory oversight by the DVS had contributed to enforcement gaps in the livestock industry, particularly involving pig and poultry farms,”
“This is the plight of the people of Tuaran — truly a case of being hit by one misfortune after another,” he said.
“Following this, DVS will amend the regulations to allow enforcement to be carried out directly at the departmental level, without having to refer to other agencies.
“This would include powers to issue farming licences as well as to suspend or revoke licences in cases of non-compliance,” he said.
