IPOH: Pig farmers in Perak are hoping that the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) will facilitate the transport of live animals to states with higher demand for pork so that slaughtering closer to the centres of demand.
To this end, they have suggested that the department allow them to send pigs to Rawang in Selangor to be slaughtered.
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Perak Animal Husbandry Association chairman David Lee Chli Yuan said they were allowed to transport live pigs to Pahang, but not to Selangor and Kuala Lumpur owing to interstate restrictions brought on by the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.
The restriction had left farmers in Perak badly affected, he said here on Monday (Feb 13).
“There are new rules and regulations that farmers must follow before the animals can be transported to Pahang, where demand for the meat is much less (than)... the big market for the live animals... in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
"We are hoping that the department can set some additional rules and allow the ban to be lifted," he added.
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The department imposed a transport ban on live pigs from Perak and Penang to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor from Jan 19.
This led to a surplus of live pigs in Perak and Pahang, and decreased supply in places where the demand is high.
Lee said with the ban in place, animals were confined to the farms, and still had to be fed daily.
“We cannot sell the pigs and there is no income for the farmers,” he added.
Lee said some farmers had asked their customers to slaughter the animals in Ipoh and transport the meat to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
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However, he said this was not the best option because of logistics and facilities.
Lee also welcomed the statement by Perak health exco member A. Sivanesan that the state was hoping to take the first step towards modernising pig farms.
He noted that farmers in Perak had been making improvements to their farms as and when needed.
“We do upgrade farms when the need arises. We always follow directives of the DVS, and will try to achieve the (targets) the exco has mentioned," he added.
