KUCHING: Poultry farms near Kampung Quop here are getting bigger and closer to the people living there, hence has become a nuisance and potential health hazard.
Habitat for Indigenous and Urban Programme (Hidup) president George Young Si Ricord Jr said the large-scale chicken farms were getting too close to where people lived.
George was recently contacted by one of the local residents to highlight their plight.
One such farm, with approximately 10 chicken coops, is located at Jalan Rundim, Kampung Quop
Residents of Jln Rundim 3B have been living next to the poultry farm for nearly 30 years.
George said there were approximately 10 households along Jalan Rundim 3B and their complaints and letters to the poultry operator and local authority had gone unheeded.
He said even the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) seemed powerless against the operator of the farm.
“According to a resident, Randet Sebar, who related his predicament to me, the farm is not only a nuisance but also a potential health hazard.
“I visited their homes and saw large number of flies all over the house including on their cooking utensils and food,” said George.
He said Randet also told him that families had to constantly close their doors and windows to prevent the flies and odour from coming into the house.
These families, according to George, have been exposed to swarms of flies everyday of their lives for the past 20 over years.
He said stray dogs would occasionally feed on the chicken carcasses that were not properly disposed off by the workers.
George urged the local authorities to monitor the air emissions of the farm and other poultry farms that seem to be sprouting all over Kampung Quop.
He pointed out that poultry farms should be set up away from residential areas, and something had to be done to control the odour and pollution. He added that those living near the farms were at risk of developing respiratory problems due to exposure to dust from such farms.
