Dog and cat breeders, however, will have to pay between RM20 and RM50 per animal. Dog and cat owners seeking a health certificate from the Veterinary Department will also have to pay the fee.
State Agricultural Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said the charges would apply for all animals that were slaughtered, offered for prayers, used in cultural customs and breeding.
He said the charges would be collected by the Penang Veterinary Services Department (DVS) in the form of fees for Health Certificates (HC) and Transport Permits (TP).
The fees will apply to those transporting livestock out of their breeding areas. As for the fees for dogs and cats, they would only apply for dog and cat breeders who are exporting them out of the state.
Before the fees came into effect, all livestock were charged RM10 by the DVS on a per consignment basis, or per lorry. The new system will see fees being charged by a per animal basis.
TPs are required by the DVS when animals are being transported to a different state or locale.
HCs per animal will be between RM3 and RM5 for pigs, goats, sheep and deer, while TPs for the same animals would be between RM1 and RM5.
Afif said the minimum charge for each animal would be RM4 if the health certificate and transport permits were combined.
Separately, he said, for dogs and cats, breeders and owners would have to pay between RM20 and RM50 per animal if they wanted a HC or TP.
Afif said the fees had been gazetted as state law in 2008 but never enforced.
“The fees are ideal rates and would level the economic playing field for small-time breeders and commercial breeders.
“Breeders without the HC and TPs can be fined under laws provided under the Animals Act 1953,” he said at a press conference at the Seberang Perai City Council today.
According to Penang Agriculture Department data, chicken is the largest meat export of the state with the largest farms at Sungai Bakap near Nibong Tebal, and the biggest importer being Singapore.
There are currently 15.1 million chickens in farms throughout the state, followed by 363,525 ducks, 19,667 cows, 9,320 goats, 2,541 sheep and 610 buffaloes.
A breeder’s interest group has said 350,000 pigs are being reared in 156 pig farms in the state.