BATU GAJAH: Perak cattle farmers have been urged to graze their animals at designated fields prepared by the state, says Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad,
The state Mentri Besar said that there were farmers who declined to do so, causing various issues to the public, including road accidents and destruction of crops.
Saarani said these mainly involved small farmers who do not own farms and resort to letting their cows or buffalo roam freely.
"When released, the animals will roam, eating grass and sometimes enter into other people's crop farms.
"Under the Veterinary Services Department, we have prepared grazing fields that are managed by a committee consisting of farmers," he said in a press conference after attending the Meet the Customer Day at Dewan Bandaran Kinta here on Monday (May 26).
"But there are some farmers who do not want to go through the committee for some reason.
"So they continue rearing the animals freely, which can also cause traffic issues, causing accidents whereby cars can crash into the animals at night, as some would sleep on the road," he said.
"We therefore called on all farmers to keep or put their animals at these grazing lands," he added.
The issue was among the complaints received during the Meet the Customer Day event.
Saarani also acknowledged that these grazing fields were probably located far away from the farmers' village, and it was an issue to travel there and back.
"However, not every village can have such grazing land. Some villages do not have such lands to be gazetted as such," he said.
"That is why we prepare these lands in specific areas, hoping that farmers will put their animals there," he added.
