Dear Christine,
I am writing this letter about a serious matter that is happening in my district. There is a large chicken pen in the area and the owner keeps burning dead fowls and rats.
When the rain is falling, it is a great problem as sometimes at night you have to go to sleep inhaling the fumes. Is this right ?
The owner does not even tell us, his neighbours, what he is doing because of his unmannerliness.
Whichever authorities that can help us with this problem would be very much appreciated.
– Inhalers
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Dear Inhalers,
It is unconscionable for anyone to burn carcasses in such a manner and cause such putrid fumes to invade people’s homes. No human being should have to endure such smells; that is just wrong!
You need to contact the Environmental Health Department.
I am sure the chief there, Jeff Headley, would have that looked into pronto because such smells are hazardous to people’s health.
This problem highlights another challenge that is seen across the length and breadth of this country, and that is the indiscriminate burning of refuse of all types in people’s backyards.
For years, asthmatics, those with allergies and others affected by such have complained about this habit and have received little relief.
It is as though people feel they have a right to light a fire on any pile of bush, old mattresses and clothes as long as it is on their property. And many feel that they can do this with no regard as to how it impacts on their neighbours.
Equally disgusting is that some people who do this are abusive and get aggressive when you speak to them about it because they see nothing wrong with it; and because they usually burn it downwind, they don’t really smell the sometimes toxic fumes escaping into the air.
From what I was told, what compounds this problem here is that there is no law in place that either controls or prohibits this age-old practice. That is why when the police turn up they ask people to be considerate to their neighbours, but otherwise can’t take any other action. However, there may be some regulations from an environmental perspective that they may be violating, and that is why you need to call in Headley’s people.
In my view open-air burning of anything on a person’s property should be prohibited, and hefty fines put in place for those who are caught doing it.
We will pass on your location to the Environmental Health Department for action, but I urge you and others in that neighbourhood to call them as well so that they would know the severity of the problem there.
– Christine
