September 12, 2007
Pig removal in Malaysian pig farms runs into difficulties
Pig farmers in Malaysia's state of Malacca were having difficulties complying with government orders to remove more than 97,000 pigs from their farms after an official order to reduce the state's pig population from the current 148,000 to just 48,000.
The farmers were told to remove the pigs before Friday (Sep 14), giving farmers little time to arrange for slaughtering or moving to other states.
Malaysia has a mainly Malay Muslim population and a minority Chinese population. While the former abhors pork, the latter finds pork a crucial part of their diet.
Authorities have avoided labeling it a racial issue and instead focused on the argument that the pig farms have been polluting the natural environment in the state.
The government had initially given farmers until Sept 21 to remove the pigs so that pig farming districts would be narrowed down from four to one district in the state.
Pig farmers had resisted when government authorities moved in to cull pigs by setting barricades. Thousands of pigs were culled before an agreement was later brokered. However, difficulties remain as to how the dateline could be met.
The fact that veterinarians from other states were unable to obtain permits to visit the farms, the closure of a slaughterhouse on Saturdays and the market's inability to absorb such a surge in supply were all cited as factors, an official in a committee monitoring the progress of the operation said.
The committee is tasked to ensure that the number of pigs in the state are reduced to 48,000 and pig farms in two of the districts were shut down.
The committee said it would find ways to resolve the farmers' difficulties.
Pig farmers have been given two days from yesterday to submit their culling schedules.
The state is unlikely to compensate farmers for the pigs, with the committee saying the government has shown tolerance towards the pig farms since 2003.
Nearly 9,000 pigs have been taken out of the farms since last week.
