Animal Welfare To Monitor Farms With Drone

[Linda K]

yep, have a guy just down the road with a gun, come over here and spook our horses, and it will be the last thing it does

[HugL]

Great thread everyone - lots of good info infused with laughter

I just can't understand how a group of overeducated, anti everything people who generally live in big cities can tell farmers with generational experience how to do their job. In reality, farmers lose money if they mis-treat the stock.

With stealing of stock on the rise, farming communities are watching out for strange vehicles and keeping an eye on activities. These people have to be close enough to the drones to fly them and watch out if you are caught!

[Kirislin]

I used to get a bloke in an ultralight fly very low over my place, come to think of it, I haven't seen him for a while now.

Talking about spooking livestock, what about hot air balloons? I've seen cattle bolt in a panic with them flying low overhead but it's common place here.

[minimax]

2 of my folks' 3 horses used to get spooked by the line-checking helicopters too (there are lines going through the paddock) - until my mum gave them a massive earful so now they check them from much higher up with binoculars. Poor things, must have been terrifying for them

A colleague of mine once said to me when we were working in rural NSW - "these people live out here for a reason". Generally people on property aren't the type to want people in their pockets, and value their space and privacy - which is completely separate from whether they are doing anything wrong.

(Edit - slightly OT but one time when the helicopters went over the youngest horse ran straight to the boundary fence to the next-door sheep, and they touched noses to comfort each other! Sweetest. Thing. Ever.)

Bit OT, but you can arrange for your property to be a "no fly zone" with electricity companies if you notify them that your animals are sensitive to fly-overs. So they will arrange to do inspections via other means when they are doing aerial line inspections.

[Weasels]

Thanks MM! The 2 horses in question have settled down a lot since then and probably wouldn't be too bothered these days, but I'll keep it in mind for any future additions :)

(Although given the fact the electrical contractor hasn't been able to grasp either "shut the gates after you or the animals will get out" or "don't flick cigarette butts around the paddocks or you'll burn the whole f&@*ing district down", I wouldn't be overly optimistic they'd stick to it)

[minimax]

Thanks MM! The 2 horses in question have settled down a lot since then and probably wouldn't be too bothered these days, but I'll keep it in mind for any future additions :)

(Although given the fact the electrical contractor hasn't been able to grasp either "shut the gates after you or the animals will get out" or "don't flick cigarette butts around the paddocks or you'll burn the whole f&@*ing district down", I wouldn't be overly optimistic they'd stick to it)

Ah, common sense, the actual least common of them all :laugh:

[mita]

From the Sydney Morning Herald Sept 12 2012. Seems Privacy Commissioner & the Civil Aviation Safety Authority have both said private use of drones needs to be debated:

Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said he was “particularly worried that this equipment can be easily purchased and used by individuals in their private capacity — the Privacy Act doesn't cover the actions of individuals in those circumstances.

“For this reason and because of the potentially intrusive nature of the technology, I think that there needs to be public debate about the use of this technology and whether current regulations are sufficient to deal with any misuse.”

Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said in an April ABC interview that some privacy issues around drones “really haven't been looked at a lot yet”, and while privacy falls outside CASA's area of responsibility “there'll probably need to be some debate at some point about that”.

[sandgrubber]

This isn't AR, but how'd your critters like having one of these things overhead?

http://m.youtube.com...p&v=zvyJpuuwcas

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Thought people might be interested in this legislation coming in in the USA.

http://www.naturalnews.com/040683_drone_legislation_Texas_police_surveillance.html

[Steve]

no hope of stopping this they have pizza deliver drones now

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/06/gillespie-look-up-the-sky-its-pizza-delivery-drone

[SkySoaringMagpie]

no hope of stopping this they have pizza deliver drones now

http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/06/gillespie-look-up-the-sky-its-pizza-delivery-drone

There's a strong incentive to shoot one down for a free dinner! Can't see that lasting ;)

[GeckoTree]

Hmmm ,OK pizza and beer delivery drones are welcome at my place. But I maintain my rage at all the spy ones.

[GeckoTree]

Now Perverts have them

UNMANNED aircraft used to spy on enemies in war zones are now being deployed to monitor private and public property and to perv on unsuspecting Queenslanders.

Unregistered and unlicensed drones costing as little as $800 on the internet are being used to beam back spy video of women on beaches and areas ordinarily hidden from prying eyes.

Legitimate operators want the authorities to ground the rogue drones but the privacy commissioner says there are no rules in his armoury to take them down.

Queensland's acting Privacy Commissioner Lemm Ex, who told The Courier-Mail he expected more drones to be used in the state for legitimate crime detection, urban planning and search and rescue, said he could not stop private rogue operators.

"There is no privacy law in Australia that will deal with one neighbour using a drone to survey another,'' Mr Ex said.

"There may be non-privacy laws which apply but it remains that the use of drones by individuals is not currently regulated by privacy law.

"And anybody with $1000 can deploy a surveillance system.''

Legitimate companies and agencies, such as police and mining and power companies, are also using the technology.

"Anecdotally there is strong consideration for the use of drones in Queensland for everything from surf lifesavers to patrol Queensland beaches to specific crime-fighting activities,'' Mr Ex said.

"One of the reasons why drones could be an attractive option for agencies is that the technology is both now eminently affordable and relatively sophisticated.

"Where drones differ slightly from the now familiar fixed camera surveillance systems is their potential for short one-off surveillance and the fact that geography is no boundary.

"There is an easier capacity for drones to survey what has traditionally been considered as personal spaces such as private property.''

He said if government agencies used drones they would have to comply with the Information Privacy Act's privacy principles.

One of Queensland's 11 licensed drone operators has written to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority asking for intervention to stop the unregistered spy planes.

Eric de Saint Quentin of Aerial Pix said drones were being abused by unlicensed operators who were buying the aircraft from the internet.

"People are flying UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) ... and are not qualified. Some are using them on women sunbaking at the beach,'' he said.

He said his company was doing surveillance for mining companies and power companies in southeast Queensland but for operational reasons would not name the businesses. He said some surveillance was done in built-up areas.

He said the companies requested the drones for security reasons or for maintenance.

A live feed goes straight to the companies and the footage was not accessed by his business, he said.

A spokesman for CASA said action could be taken against unlicensed drone operators but evidence was needed.

CASA requires a drone operator to have a controller's certification and certificate. Drone pilots require general aviation knowledge in line with a private pilot's licence, and specific unmanned aircraft skills.

Drones cannot be used for recreational use.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/unmanned-aircraft-bought-online-being-deployed-to-monitor-private-and-public-property/story-fnihsrf2-1226707858451

Edited August 30, 2013 by DaffyDuck

[sandgrubber]

1377906089[/url]' post='6288057']

Now Perverts have them

UNMANNED aircraft used to spy on enemies in war zones are now being deployed to monitor private and public property and to perv on unsuspecting Queenslanders.

Unregistered and unlicensed drones costing as little as $800 on the internet are being used to beam back spy video of women on beaches and areas ordinarily hidden from prying eyes.

Legitimate operators want the authorities to ground the rogue drones but the privacy commissioner says there are no rules in his armoury to take them down.

Queensland's acting Privacy Commissioner Lemm Ex, who told The Courier-Mail he expected more drones to be used in the state for legitimate crime detection, urban planning and search and rescue, said he could not stop private rogue operators.

"There is no privacy law in Australia that will deal with one neighbour using a drone to survey another,'' Mr Ex said.

"There may be non-privacy laws which apply but it remains that the use of drones by individuals is not currently regulated by privacy law.

"And anybody with $1000 can deploy a surveillance system.''

Legitimate companies and agencies, such as police and mining and power companies, are also using the technology.

"Anecdotally there is strong consideration for the use of drones in Queensland for everything from surf lifesavers to patrol Queensland beaches to specific crime-fighting activities,'' Mr Ex said.

"One of the reasons why drones could be an attractive option for agencies is that the technology is both now eminently affordable and relatively sophisticated.

"Where drones differ slightly from the now familiar fixed camera surveillance systems is their potential for short one-off surveillance and the fact that geography is no boundary.

"There is an easier capacity for drones to survey what has traditionally been considered as personal spaces such as private property.''

He said if government agencies used drones they would have to comply with the Information Privacy Act's privacy principles.

One of Queensland's 11 licensed drone operators has written to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority asking for intervention to stop the unregistered spy planes.

Eric de Saint Quentin of Aerial Pix said drones were being abused by unlicensed operators who were buying the aircraft from the internet.

"People are flying UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) ... and are not qualified. Some are using them on women sunbaking at the beach,'' he said.

He said his company was doing surveillance for mining companies and power companies in southeast Queensland but for operational reasons would not name the businesses. He said some surveillance was done in built-up areas.

He said the companies requested the drones for security reasons or for maintenance.

A live feed goes straight to the companies and the footage was not accessed by his business, he said.

A spokesman for CASA said action could be taken against unlicensed drone operators but evidence was needed.

CASA requires a drone operator to have a controller's certification and certificate. Drone pilots require general aviation knowledge in line with a private pilot's licence, and specific unmanned aircraft skills.

Drones cannot be used for recreational use.

http://www.courierma...2-1226707858451

So, is it legal to shoot one down if it goes low over your property ?

[OSoSwift]

Thats what would happen here, no if's no butts, shot gun or 243 - bye bye drone :)

[BlackJaq]

Well, anybody who believes that commercial farmers will be the only target has got to be kidding themselves.