The problem of pig farming in and on the edge of the residential areas has been a thorn in the side of council for many years. Tension between residents and the pig farmers that has been simmering for years, is now reaching boiling point. Unpleasant confrontations are increasingly surfacing and are being reported to the authorities. Two weeks ago, a Pacaltsdorp resident clubbed his neighbour's pig to death when it broke through the fence and came onto his property.
Council advertised and invited tenders for the lease of portion 37 of farm 202, Hansmoeskraal for pig farming on 23 May this year.
Debra Sauer, liaison officer for the George Municipality commented: "The tender was advertised with specifications which do not include intensive feed farming, and therefore the property can only be used in accordance with the existing user rights, namely on an extensive basis. The Department of Agriculture assisted the municipality to determine the criteria to ensure that the farming acti-vity will comply with the user rights and the requirements of the applicable environmental legislation.
"Furthermore, the tender conditions stipulate that no permanent structures are allowed on the property. Only structures required for extensive pig farming and as specified by the Department of Agriculture will be allowed. Any and all structures will require the submission of building plans and their approval in terms of the applicable National Building Standards."
Sauer acknowledged that a number of objections were received and that the item dealing with the objections will serve before council in due course.
Willem Marx, the estate manager and member of the Board of Trustees of the Oubaai Golf Estate has confirmed that they have lodged an objection against the proposed project on behalf of the Oubaai Home Owners' Association.
Mark Smith, an abutting neighbour, has also lodged an objection to the proposed pig farming activities on behalf of the Hansmoeskraal Community Forum. "To even contemplate an intense pig farming programme to be controlled by over 40 different owners on a single parcel of land is a recipe for disaster. The prospect of disease due to overcrowding is a definite, not even a possibility."
Kenneth Windwaai, a pig farmer from Pa-caltsdorp, is one of those who tendered and is hoping to be part of the group that will be able to join the Klapperkop pig farming project. Klapperkop is the commonly used name for the municipal farming land situated on portion 37 of farm 202, Hansmoeskraal.
"I acknowledge that there is a problem between us and the residents and it is getting worse. Something will have to happen now before someone gets hurt."
Windwaai acknowledges that on the land that he is currently hiring he cannot build the pigsties to the specifications required by law. The specifications ensure good farming practices. "Klapperkop will be ideal as the tender stipulates that it is for a five year period and this will give us the security to invest in the required infrastructure. With this degree of certainty we will also be able to improve animal husbandry that is vital for healthy farming procedures. Furthermore, we will be able to practise the lessons from the farming courses we have attended."
The free cheese whey water from the Lancewood Cheese Factory in George is problematic for the emerging farmers. The transport company that has the contract to dispose of the whey protein water only delivers to the established farms.
"One of these farms is just about on the Gwaing River overlooking the Oubaai Golf Estate and they receive a full load of 25 tons of whey protein water per delivery.
We in turn must wait like criminals for the truck to arrive on the side of the road at the old sewerage works in Pacaltsdorp to receive the whey water which we must then cart away in one ton plastic containers at our expense. We have been chased away from the other distribution points after complaints to the council's health department." Lindeka Kwetane, who stays in Thembahlethu, says that the pigs are a terrible problem in her area. "Whatever you plant gets eaten, but I still feel sorry for the farmers as they have no land to farm on."
Councillor Johan Stander, ward councillor for Ward 23 said that until council has deliberated the matter, protocol dictates that he refrains from making a statement. "I do, however, have sympathy for the plight of the pig farmers and council will have to find a solution to the problem."
The land in question.
ARTICLE: MYRON RABINOWITZ
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