Illegal residential poultry farm shows signs of improvement, says SPCA

The uMngeni SPCA has reported improvements at a residential property that was operating illegally as a poultry farm in Merrivale, months after deplorable conditions were uncovered there. In October last year,The Witnessreported that the farm was operating in a residential area in contravention of municipal bylaws, which prohibit farming in such zones due to potential risks to human health. At the time, inspectors found 150 broiler chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys and traditional chickens kept in poor conditions.

In the broiler house, several chickens were found without access to water, which the SPCA said was a direct violation of the Animals Protection Act. Others, they said, were suffering from old, untreated injuries and were discovered in an isolation room and had to be humanely slaughtered. The living conditions of these animals were described by SPCA inspectors as filthy, with foreign objects scattered around the enclosures, posing a risk of injury to the birds.

uMngeni SPCA spokesperson Kevin Khumalo said the property owner was charged with animal cruelty and also received a warning from the Department of Environmental Affairs. Khumalo added that the owner was instructed to immediately provide clean water for the animals and clean up the premises. In a follow-up inspection conducted last Friday, Khumalo said the SPCA had observed notable progress. He said most of the enclosures had been demolished following an instruction from the department and that ducks and geese previously kept confined are now roaming freely.