Swiftlets are taking over homes and businesses in George Town, forcing residents and other stakeholders out of the city. If regulation and enforcement on the swiftlet farming industry are not implemented soon, George Town will become a Bird Town.
We implore the government to move swiftlet farms to agricultural areas where the industry can benefit the rural areas of Malaysia.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
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The conditions are just right for the swiftlets to nest here.
It's, dark, safe and plenty of insects from the plants. Mosquitoes and small insects attract these birds and these insects are abundant in such areas.
This place was probably a swiftlet nesting area before and the birds might be trying to claim back their house. Explains why these birds are going into this house even with all the shooing away.
My house was never a swiftlet nesting site even though it had been abandoned for years. It would have been nice to have had a collection of swiftlet nests to put towards the restoration costs! The reason the swiftlets are flying around in it now is because there has been an uncontrolled explosion in population just recently. I have a swift house right next to me on one side which is damaging the party wall with sprinklers and there are 2 houses behind me, as well as many further down the street and on Beach Street. And the effluent from these swift houses goes into the open drains or is just washed out onto the back lanes. When we first moved in there were not as many birds around but with the rampant illegal proliferation of urban swiftlet farms the swiftlet population has soared and is now, as you can see, a real issue for residents like myself, who have invested much more than the initial start up costs of the swiftlet farmers. Insects that swiftlets feed on are not abundant in my house I can assure you. Their preferred foods include winged termites, generally flying ants, small hymenopterans including parasitic wasps, and flies and these are found mainly over forest and agriculture. Tuckfook, you should really know that! Stagnant pools of water in its courtyard next door which we can see over the party wall do cause mosquitoes but the birds obviously do not eat these even though there is a misconception that they keep areas mosquito free. The swiftlets are arial and fly out to agricultural or forested areas to feed during the day which is why they swarm in the morning as as they leave and then again in the afternoons and evenings as they come back to the urban swiftlet farms. Tuckfook- you should also know this basic scientific fact about the swiftlets! They prefer living in rural or agricultural areas as well. Recently, in certain areas such as Setiawan/Manjung, and parts of Thailand,rampant uncontrolled swiftlet farms have decimated the insect populations and now the productivity has been affected. Birds are even dying because of lack of food. This causes an environmental disaster as the consequences become clear all down the food chain. This will happen here as well as swiftlet farmers are thinking short term without plans to sustain a balance that will benefit the business. Rural swiftlet farms, as more and more are being built now, if managed well, will benefit in the longer term.
Thank you Rebecca for your point of view.
First, let me congratulate you and your family on a fantastic restoration job, you are a fine example for Malaysians to emulate. Well done.
Perhaps it may have been more profitable for you to have converted the property to a swiftlet farm : )
You are of course absolutely correct on the preferred diet of these birds but they will opportunistically feed on most small insects, as we have also found the exoskeleton of small beetles (coccinellids), mosquitoes (Culicidae), various gnats and midges in their feces. These insects are often found amongst plants especially when they are flowering, and of course where there are perpetually wet areas, or slow moving water as in ponds and clogged drains. Swiftlet house owners are often advised to use salt or ABATE(temephos) to kill all insect larvae in their ponds.
All animals feed wherever there is food, the nearer the better. Swiftlets will certainly not fly miles away to feed when there is food nearby, which is one of the basic criteria in setting up a farm in rural areas. eg. insecticide intensive agri areas are perhaps best to be avoided.
You are again absolutely right that 'urban' birds have to fly miles to feed, but why then do they return faithfully to their nests near human populations? Certainly not for the lack of rural swiftlet houses. Why then do many rural swiftlet houses fail?
It may seem strange that these swiftlets prefer to live near humans. Swiftlets have populated the walls of many buildings along Beach street and Weld Quay for many years until humans persistently destroyed their natural breeding sites. The Standard Chartered Bank, was one that put great effort into keeping their walls 'clean' from 'white Gold'!
Perhaps, swiftlets have a natural affinity to humans and their structures.
Whether uncontrolled swiftlet farming is causing an environmental disaster or otherwise is best left to the ecologists and renowned experts the likes of Lord Cranbrook and professionals to ascertain, but the uncontrolled use of insecticides probably destroy more insects and their future generations in one swoop.
It is questionable whether your neighbours' operations are truly illegal or otherwise, there has been no specific law declaring these operations illegal nor has anyone been prosecuted for such. In fact, the guidlines allow the operations of swiftlet houses in commercial areas.
Swiftlet houses proliferate in Georgetown mainly because the property owners do not have a choice. It is a matter of survival for most owners. Because swiftlet ranching can be very lucrative, some properties can fetch prices far above what was possible prior to swiftlet ranching.
It is rare to find a buyer, like the Wilkinsons, who will purchase a near derelict property, at a ransom, and spend much much more restoring it, not into a swiftlet ranch ! Hats off to you!
If there were more people dedicated as you, there would be fewer swiftlet ranches in Georgetown.
The fact remains that swiftlets love your property. The indications are that it would be very successful as a swiftlet ranch. You can perhaps look to earning a little by dedicating some space for these swiftlets. It won't be long before some smart bird will try nesting in a dark corner ; )
After all, Swiftlets our Living Heritage. Manna from Heaven.
Tuckfook, (is this really your real name? or are you hiding behind it?) the swiftlets do not love my property, they are certainly not manna from heaven and they are not living heritage. My family loves this house- it has great karma and the spirits within it have really been the reason the house has been restored. We did not pay a ransom for it and I hate to tell you this, we are no longer rare. Take a good look around. There are many more people moving into George Town because of its true long term potential as a living, vibrant city. I really think you should get a grip on reality. The swiftlet farmers have taken advantage of the moratorium to proliferate illegally. This has led to a population explosion in George Town. That is a fact and you know it really. I would never endanger my family or anyone else by starting up a swiftlet farm in a residential area or in my house. You may endanger your family if you want but I know that you would never do that because you are aware of the dangers this business poses in residential areas already. I would guarantee that you are the one who lives in a little airconditioned palace well away from the dangers that your business puts others in, and you keep your family well away from this too. You make remarks like this but then avoid all responsibility by trying to dump the responsibility on the scientific experts. Swiftlets don't flock to humans at all, they have been encouraged by tapes and other means to artificially use these houses. They have been lured by people like yourselves who then take no responsibility for the mess they have created. All for a profit at the expense of everyone else. This is called greed. This is an immoral act and you should really be ashamed of yourself.
Hi Rebecca, you will discover, eventually, that I do not hide. Jumping to ridiculous conclusions is unbecoming of your reputation.
Sad but I did have an initial admiration for you.
Please check your history on Penang about the existence of swiftlets nesting in houses, well before your own existence. Check the historical records of the major buildings around Weld Quay and Beach street. Elizabeth Cardosa or her father could probably confirm this fact.
You have blatantly made assumptions and conclusions before investigating the facts. You make guarantees you will not be able to back up. My mistake, Not a role model to emulate.
If you cared to find out, I do not own a swiftlet ranch in Georgetown.
Considering that you knew there were existing swiftlet houses surrounding the property before purchasing and yet you chose to 'endanger' your family by purchasing the property and moving your family into it. Were you thinking of a suicide pact ? Are you lying when you wrote " I would never endanger my family..." when you have obviously done so, by moving your family into an established swiftlet ranch neighbourhood, that poses, as you speculate, multiple dangers.
You move into an established neighbourhood and expect your neighbours to follow your conditions. Is that being ethical and fair to your neighbours?
If you bothered to research, many swiftlet house owners in Georgetown, suffice to say, rely heavily on the income from the sale of swiftlet nests. Also many of these ranches did not need to use any form of artificial attraction to have these birds nesting in their premises.
Can you be absolutely sure that what you are doing will not deprive some people in Georgetown of an honest living.
It is normal to give due respect to professionals and experts in their respective fields. It would be irresponsible to act otherwise. Those who do not respect the opinions of experts and professionals and expound their own unsubstantiated opinions are often termed "Bullshitters"
I am not ashamed to speak out for the silent minority, on the other hand, you should be shamed for imposing your personal beliefs and expectations on innocent folks.
If indeed there is a revolution in Georgetown, let these people buy out the swiftlet houses and restore them to it's former glory, minus the swiftlets nesting under the eaves?
Tuckfook I have upset you! Yes, historically there were just a few houses that swiftlets nested on the eaves and these were harvested. It is recorded that the first white nest swiftlets moved into town houses in about the 1930's. In Bintulu, Sarawak, white nest swiftlets were seen nesting on the outside of a building and within 2 years canny owners and top floor apartments opened their windows to allow them in. The birds nest inside these houses, no longer on the eaves.There is now an estimated 600 swiftlet farms in just the heritage zone of George Town. It is these numbers that are an accident waiting to happen. You know full well that the farms have been set up by deliberately luring the birds into them, with no licenses and with unlawful renovations. This is not honest business, it is business at the expense of the residents. This is not a natural phenomenon and you know it. It has been manipulation of nature to the point of creating a potential environmental disaster. When we purchased our properties in George Town the State Government had already promised to remove urban swiftlet farms out by end 2008. We and others, believed in our politicians and many made a commitment to George Town. This was then extended to end 2009 and now we have the moratorium. We have been misled by political circumstances. The swiftlet farmers took advantage of this and there has as you know, been an uncontrolled and almost frenzied proliferation of the farms in town. Great if you have your farms in the rural area as it is to your advantage if the urban farms are made to move out. The 10m rule in the guidelines means that my neighbouring swift farms have to move. This move will benefit all rural farms as the birds will find homes out there over time. This is a view supported by Lord Cranbrook in my conversation with him. He also says that the proliferation of farms in town cannot be properly scientifically studied any longer because of the obvious manipulation by humans. The opportunity to establish a scientifically well managed business has been lost. This is why the huge advantage is in the rural farms who should really take opportunities to set up well managed farming systems that create the right balance of conditions. This is what you should be encouraging if you have the long term sustainability of the swift farmers in mind. You should all be collaborating to create the right balance for all of you to benefit long term. The establishment of a proper swift ranching park on the mainland or on designated land behind eg.Balik Pulau is something that you all as business men should consider. You are not the silent majority. The residents of George Town and throughout our small Malaysia towns are the silent majority and the swift farmers are the very loud minority. You yourself insinuated on this blog that swift farmers have contributed to DAP coming into power. How am I supposed to interpret this? You Tuckfook are not worthy of my respect or my time.
Anyone reading will find Rebecca contradicting herself in every post.
It is no wonder that her associates have little good to say.
Wow that is insane. I really don't know how you live with it.
And here is me thinking it was just the noise.
Hello Rebecca,
How long have you live in your new place?
For your information, we locals born and breed here. Swiftlet are part of the heritage. They were here 40 yrs ago in the town. Don't believe?! Go check with the old town folks. Penang has transformed from a town to a city. But swiftlets are still here to stay. Try to be smart and shoo them away, they will still return to their nest or migrate to another house in town away from anti-swiftlet human like you!
Do you know Canadians are breeding bees in the rooftop of highrise buildings in the cities? Swiftlet houses are similar but also different as swiftlets come naturally. We don't breed them. They come naturally. We just provide them an enclose shelter, protect them from anti siwftlet folks like you. So what's your problem?
Go get rid of the insects and mozzy at your home. They will stop flying at your courtyard. Get it?
Bobby
Hi Rebecca, I don't think the video showing so many swiftlets flying around is a daily occurrence. When insects like termite, black ants, mosquitoes etc swarms, the swiftlets would swoop in and feed on them. That's why we seldom have swarms of insects invading our homes every now and then, like what we have in the past. In those days when the insects swarms, they get into every corner of our house and even into our ears, nose & mouth. We have to switch off all the lights and sit it our until all the insects had slowly and eventually moved out. Then we spend the whole of next days sweeping those dead ones from every knooks & cranies. I don't know about you, but between swiftlet, termites, mosquitoes or some other nasty insects, I would be thankful to have swiftlets. They are very efficient and flies off the moment they have cleared the insects from your house.
jackie
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