Comments on Draft Basic Assessment Report of Wild Olive chicken farm project

NOI Reference Number: 16/3/3/6/7/1/B5/14/1003/23

Care4Tulbagh registered as an I&AP (Interested and Affected Party) on behalf of the Tulbagh community to raise objections to this planned development.

---

Here is a very brief summary of the reasons we object to this application.

A chicken farm is to be established on a farm 6km southeast of Tulbagh Village, just off the R46 route that passes Wolseley.

There will be 20 chicken houses each 2550m² in size. The total house construction will cover 51'000m² (excluding other possible constructions). The dimensions of each of the chicken houses are 150m x 17m. Each one is 50m longer than a rugby field.

Each house will contain 54'450 chickens, thus totaling 1'089'000 chickens at a time on the farm.

Chickens will be kept on the farm for 32 days, with 8 cycles per year - thus 8'712'000 chickens per annum.

Water consumption will be 35.2 million liters per year.

Electricity usage requires two additional transformers from Eskom to supply a capacity of 400kV for 360kV used. Eskom supplies 11kV to Tulbagh Village.

See more details further below...

---

---

Summary with a bit more detail

dBar-CHT is draft Basic Assessment Report, which is a report of an analysis of the impact this project will have, and written by the consultancy appointed by the developer.
We object to their conclusions.

1. The section about electricity includes an Eskom invoice, and a statement by a practitioner electrician "verifying" the energy requirements. Neither document relates to the impact this additional load will have on the present frail local electricity grid. There is no report by a professional qualified civil electric engineer.

2. There is no analysis of the impact that abstracting 35.2 million liters per year from the underground water stock will have on other farmers. No survey is included of present water usage.

3. The analysis presented in dBar-CHT about the impact of fauna and flora is based on the present condition of the property. The natural habitat of the farm has indeed been destroyed many decades ago, but it does not follow from that condition that there will be no impact on fauna and flora. There is no analysis of the impact on roaming fauna and birds that traverse boundaries, and nothing on reclaiming or regenerating the original natural vegetation. No restoration or conservation plans are included. Only the small footprint of the farm itself was considered. The impact on the greater surrounding valley is not considered. No mention is made of the original, now vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered plant species found in the valley.

4. There is no mention of modern approaches to responsible and sustainable farming and integration with the ecological environment. There is no plan for the proportionally larger area on the farm property not covered by buildings. That area also requires management, and an ecologically friendly plan.

5. The traffic analysis is poor with no presentation of tonnage, frequency of truck visits to the property, or maintenance of the dust access road. It seems more than 2000 ton needs to be removed regularly - with 20 ton large trucks.

6. There is no analysis of the health risk to the natural environment (wild birds, carnivores, etc.) or to humans. Pollution of foul odour, air-born disease, seepage or fire are not adequately addressed.

7. There are gaps in how exactly the 2000 ton of manure and dead chicken management will happen.

8. Vermin and pest control requires much more detailed attention. This should include preventative measure put in place to reduce risk for predator birds, reptiles and mammals that are common on all farms in the area. There is no information on the control of flies, mites, rats, lice, fleas, beetles, ants, chiggers and gnats (small flies).

9. Tourism is the second largest industry in the valley, yet there is no consideration of the impact of the planned farm on the more than 17 tourist establishments in the immediate surrounding areas, some just a few hundred meters away.

10. The proposed chicken farm does not comply with the Witzenberg IDP's goals, as will be explained.

These gaps in the present application indicate an incomplete analysis of the impact the planned chicken houses will have on the overall environment.

Until a more complete document is submitted with substantiated evidence, no further approvals by any of the stakeholder authorities can proceed.

---

Care4Tulbagh is a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO).
Care for Tulbagh Association: 290-126 NPO