Residents cannot rear chickens
Published on: Friday, December 04, 2020
By: Sidney Skinner
The Penampang rate-payer, who keeps rearing chickens, receiving the notice from District Council workers.
Rate-payers in one part of Penampang have been instructed to give up rearing chickens inside their compounds.A Disrtict Council spokesman said the respective individuals were informed that they could not do this in a “kawasan perumahan (housing area)” and asked to relocate their poultry elsewhere.
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He said notices to this effect had been issued to homeowners in Taman Tosaraya.
“They will be given a grace period in which to fulfil our instructions,” he said.
“Should they fail to do so, then further action can be taken against them.”
He said those who refused to comply risked being taken to court where they could wind up being liable to a RM1,000 fine.
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The spokesman said such action could be taken under the Section 49 C (5) of the Local Government Ordinance (Amendments) 2000.
“If found guilty, they can be fined or asked to serve a six-month jail term, or both.”
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The crackdown on rearing-activities was prompted by recurring complaints about the stench coming from the common backyard drain for houses along Lorong Tosaraya 2.
Council staff placing notices on the authority’s ban on chicken-rearing in post boxes around the neighbourhood.
In each instance, the drain was found to be clogged with chicken feathers and droppings which a poultry-owner had been hosing into the structure.
This indiscriminate action was causing the water inside to stagnate, giving rise to the foul odour.
The spokesman said three separate inspections had been made into this matter over the past 12 months.
The errant rate-payer had first been told to stop keeping chickens inside her home at the beginning of the year, according to him
He said the individual complied with this instruction. However, the nuisance resurfaced several months later.
“We checked on this problem again in August and were shocked to find 22 birds inside her coop,” he said.
The agency’s staff had enquired, at the time, about the reason she was rearing so many chickens.
He said the rate-payer claimed the poultry was for “kegunaan sendiri (personal use)”.
Nevertheless, she vacated the coop after being instructed do so.
“Towards the end of October, we became aware that her poultry was back and confirmed this at the beginning of November.
“She was again asked to get rid of her chickens which she did. Our inspectors found the coop empty when they returned a fortnight later.”
When asked why the rate-payer had not been ordered to dismantle the coop, the spokesman declined to comment.
“Our staff periodically keep an eye on the goings-on in the neighbourhood to ensure that the public complies with our requirements.”
CHUNG of Penampang bemoaned the foul odour coming from the direction of the drain outside his backyard fence.
He suspected that her neighbour did not clean up after his poultry and that the birds’ droppings were somehow finding their way into the drain.
“I have noticed feathers in these structures and the water inside gives of a bad smell. Because of this we cannot be in our back yard for very long.”
He said it was virtually impossible for his family to eat, let alone prepare meals, in the kitchen.
“The minute any of us inhale the stench, we lose our appetites.”
Chung said he was reluctant to entertain visitors in his home lest they remark about this problem.
He claimed to have reported these goings-on to the Council on several occasions.
Despite this effort, he said the nuisance created by the stench still remained.
“I want to know whether rate-payers can rear chickens in their homes.
“Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for such an animal to be kept on a farm instead of in a residential area?“
The spokesman said, under the Public Health Ordinance 1960 and the Council’s (Conservancy and Hygiene) By-laws 1984, rate-payers were not supposed to rear even one chicken.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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