A DAVAO City councilor is pushing for an ordinance seeking for livestock raisers in the city to regulate the odor coming from their farms.
Councilor Ralph Abella, committee on agriculture and food chairperson, said on Tuesday, October 22, that the ordinance aims to create measures on how to regulate foul and unpleasant odors emanating from animal houses and farms.
Abella said he had been receiving complaints from his constituents regarding foul or unpleasant odors of animal wastes and discharges coming from backyard piggeries, poultry farms, or livestock commercial establishments.
"Studies showed that this foul or unpleasant smell can put human health at risk. It can also affect the environment through surface and ground water," the council said in his privilege speech.
He said the objective of the proposed ordinance is to guarantee and safeguard that livestock raising businesses and activities in the city are in conformity with all existing pertinent laws, rules, and regulations.
He also said that it also aims to promote the general welfare and protect the health of the people "with thorough emphasis on minimizing, if not eliminating, foul or unpleasant odor, and water pollution."
The councilor added that the city would also be providing aid and support to the growth of the livestock business as well as backyard raising in the city through standardized management and administration.
Meanwhile, Abella said he encouraged the livestock owners and industry to put treatment facilities and other methods to counter this problem.
He cited methods such as usage of environmentally-friendly enzymes for animal feeding, recycling of animal wastes as composts to guarantee the wastes and discharges generated by their activities and operations will not affect neighboring areas and the health of the people living in the said community.