Sarawak cracks down on illegal swiftlet breeders

Wednesday February 18, 2009
By JACK WONG

KUCHING: Sarawak Forestry Corporation has launched a crackdown on over 1,500 unlicensed swiftlet breeders.

The operations, which started in major towns yesterday, came after the deadline to the breeders to dismantle their illegal operations expired on Dec 31.

Crackdown: An enforcement officer dismantling the lock to one of the shophouses during the operation against illegal swiftlet rearing in Kuching yesterday.

Forestry head of corporate communications Zulkifli Baba Noor said building owners would be asked to produce valid licences for swiftlet farming when enforcement officers check their premises.

“If they fail to produce the licences, the officers will have to remove the sound systems, nests and eggs,” he told The Star.

He said 732 applications for swiftlet farming had been received and the relevant agencies, including Natural Resources and Environment Board, were studying the applications.
There are now only two licensed farms statewide.

An enforcement team, accompanied by police and City South Council health and enforcement officers, began its operations at a row of four-storey shophouses at Three Hills Park, Jalan Foochow, here.

Most of the upper floors of the shophouses have been used for swiftlet farming.

Sarawak Birdnest Imports and Exports Association president Tsai Mui Leong, one of the affected breeders, appealed for a five-year grace period to relocate their operations.

He said many breeders applied three months ago for licences to relocate but had yet to obtain the approvals.

“Give us the licences and we will comply with the various conditions.

“The authorities can come and inspect our operations monthly. This would be a win-win situation,” he told reporters.

Just taking wing but it’s an honest trade

Tuesday February 10, 2009
OH KEAN SHEN,Penang.

I REFFR to the letter “Swiftlet rearing in town a health threat” by Dr T.K. Ho (The Star, Feb 6) and I would like to share my views on this.

Firstly, I like to thank the writer for his concern as a medical expert. I only ask him to study the matter more throroughly before making such remarks. Dengue fever has been around for a while and during that time, the swiftlet industry was not at this magnitude. So why blame it on the swiftlet industry?

Bird’s nest business has existed for centuries. Initially, the nests came from caves but the Indonesians have developed the technology to farm them in houses. In the past, this technology has been secretly guarded by a small number of people.

The business is now growing and contributing to 0.5% of Indonesia’s economy. The technology has spread to more people today.

According to Jabatan Haiwan and Jabatan Perhilitan, the chances of swiftlets (edible nest type or EBN) of contracting and spreading bird flu is minimal because EBN swiftlets are non-migratory and they do not share flying or roosting space with other birds. Swiftlets do not have the same food and water sources as other birds.

The writer is correct in saying that one of the ways of controlling the correct temperature and humidity in the farm is to have stagnant ponds. But this has been replaced by humidifiers which do not allow the breeding of aedes mosquitoes.

We should not kill an industry or business just because of a stagnant pond. We must be innovative and find new methods to solve the problem and not destroy a whole business.
We are keen to work closely with anyone who is able to contribute towards the future of the swiftlet business. We even take Dr Ho’s comment with a positive note.

The business is not a time bomb for a serious epidemic outbreak. It is a business conducted by people who have put in a lot of their hard-earned monies to try and build up an honest business.
The business is new and there is much work to be done to make it professional but it is an honest one. We agree that there should be rules and regulations to guide and manage the business and such regulations must be drawn up with the help of people who are in the know and also those who are in this business.

Swiftlet rearing in town a health threat

Friday February 6, 2009
DR T K HO, London.

I READ with keen interest the article “Ministry must be firm in dengue fight” (The Star, Feb 1).
As most of us know, dengue fever is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pains, lymphadenopathy (swollen glands), and rashes.

The presence of fever, rashes and headache (and other pains), i.e. the “dengue triad”, is particularly characteristic of dengue. The more severe form of dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever, can present as headache, fever, rashes, and evidence of haemorrhage or bleeding in the body.

Petechiae (small red or purple blisters under the skin), bleeding in the nose or gums, black stools, or easy bruising are all possible signs of haemorrhage. This form of dengue fever can be life-threatening or even fatal.

The Health Ministry should definitely be firm and take actions ranging from primary health care to tertiary health care. I also wish to add that the general public themselves need to take measures to prevent the breeding of the aedes mosquitos.

No matter how much effort the Ministry puts in to combat the disease, the result will likely be unsatisfactory if the public continue to be apathetic towards the fight against dengue.

I wish to highlight a very good example which I hope the authorities will take note of and do the necessary.

On my recent visit to Sitiawan and Pantai Remis in Manjung district, Perak, I noticed the widespread practice of converting shophouses into breeding grounds for swiftlets in order to collect “birds’ nest”, an expensive delicacy.

These shophouses are located in a densely populated area in the town centre. In order to attract birds into these converted shophouses to build nests, the shophouses are left unoccupied and the owners place clean water which can be left stagnant for days. Obviously, the water left in the shophouses provide the ideal breeding environment for aedes mosquitoes.

In addition, the birds can also carry infectious diseases such as meningitis from their droppings, not to mention the risk of bird flu. It seems that the owners of these shophouses are willing to jeopardise the health of their neighbours and the public for monetary gain.

These converted shophouses are health hazards and are a time bomb for a serious epidemic outbreak.