According to The New Straits Times, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the state Veterinary Services Department (VSD) was instructed to draw up an exit plan with the farmers.

"Three years is a reasonable timeframe for the farmers to close down and relocate to a conducive and safer place. The department will be working with the farmers to come up with a plan to shift to a new location," he said after chairing the state executive councillors meeting in Wisma Negeri yesterday.

Mr Hasan said the farmer would have to consider acquiring new land with proper facilities, such as the Pig Farming Area in Tanah Merah, Lukut in Port Dickson, which is equipped with a slaughterhouse and effluent discharge ponds.

He said the state government wanted to avoid an outbreak of diseases such as the Japanese Encephalitis outbreak in Bukit Pelandok, Port Dickson in 1999.

"I have also instructed the VSD and local council to take a look at the abandoned Bukit Pelandok site as we have received complaints that some pig farmers are operating illegally there."

Mr Hasan also urged food companies to award contracts for poultry farming to people who were using the closed farming system, where the birds are housed in closed and covered facilities.

"Most of the bigger farms are located in Port Dickson, Tampin, Rembau and Seremban and I hope that food companies will work with us and award contracts to operators, who use the system approved by the state government.

"They should check with the VSD before signing an agreement because many farms have yet to adopt the system, although they were given ample time to do so."