The Department of Veterinary Services is scheduled to conduct an audit of remaining pig farms in Selangor soon, with all livestock to be slaughtered and disposed of by the end of this year, says Datuk Izham Hashim.
"There are some farms with some piglets remaining. These piglets will be slaughtered when they are mature enough, with the entire process to be completed around October," said the state infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman.
"The remaining livestock is being cleared in stages, unless they are ill, which means they need to be disposed of properly."
Izham expects the number of existing livestock to be significantly reduced by now, as 12,000 pigs were recorded during an audit three months ago.
He added that an initial audit of Selangor's pig farms showed there were 240,000 animals in 114 farms occupying some 141.5ha (350 acres) of land.
"The next stage to look into is the rehabilitation of the land and how to assist the farmers to find new livelihoods," said Izham.
"The state government is concerned about their welfare, as some have been working on the farms for generations.
"We are aware that some farmers have already turned their land to grow crops such as lime. We will try to assist the remaining farmers to apply for grants (for their next agriculture venture)."
The Selangor government is in the midst of closing down all pig farms. It will no longer issue new farming licences and plans to import 100% of its pork supply from other states.
This decision was made following the Sultan of Selangor's strong disagreement and public outcry over issues of river pollution, waste and odour linked to pig farming operations.
Izham was speaking after officiating at a workshop in Shah Alam to review Selangor's Integrated Coastal Management Plan (2022-2030) organised by the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS).
Also present at the event were LUAS senior assistant director (River Basin and Coastal Management Division) Haslina Amer and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) senior researcher Muhammad Izuan Nadzri.
LUAS is collaborating with UMT to develop Selangor's coastline under the Blue Carbon Economy approach.
