Where hi-tech watches their flocks by night …
Thermal-imaging drones deployed against stock thieves
Desperate to curb the theft of a billion rands’ worth of livestock every year, SA’s farmers are turning to the skies and using militarygrade equipment to catch thieves.
Those who farm cattle, goats and sheep are particularly vulnerable, with some farmers along the Lesotho border having lost a quarter of their stock in the past 18 months.
Agri SA deputy executive director Christo van der Rheede said farmers, especially emerging farmers living far from towns, were being driven to extreme measures to recover their stock.
He said while commercial farmers had access to technology such as drones, emerging farmers often did not.
“We have heard reports of farmers using various methods to go into countries to recover their stolen livestock. Some take the law into their own hands and deal harshly with those behind stock theft, but obviously no-one talks about it openly.”
Last year the North West farming community of Schweizer-Reneke began to raise money for a drone fitted with a US militarygrade thermal imaging camera, in the hope it would track down people involved in attacks on farms.
Reads car number plates
Within days of acquiring the equipment seven months ago, at a cost of nearly R400,000, its added use in combating stock theft became apparent to the farmers.
Andre Pienaar, who helps operate the drone, said they had to acquire special permission from the US defence force to export the camera.
“The hoops we have had to jump through — which included waiting six months for permission from the US defence force to export the camera and signing multiple declarations that we would not supply it on to countries on their watch lists — have been worth it. We have dramatically reduced stock theft in the area. The drone and the camera, which has both daylight and thermal-imaging capabilities, is among the best in the world.”
Pienaar said the drone travels for up to 7km at 70km/h.
“The camera has facial-recognition and vehicle-registration-reading capabilities. With the software it comes with, we can track a specific person in a group from nearly 500m in the air, and it is silent.”
He said two months ago they used it to capture thieves who had stolen sheep from a farm in the area.
“With the drone and camera we could track the suspects to where they were hiding.”
Free State farmer Eric Meyer, whose farm borders Lesotho, said his drone, which was also equipped with thermal-imagining cameras, had proved its worth.
“The drone can be flown beyond line-ofsight, for up to 5km. The thermal-imaging camera is a force multiplier. It allows one to see perfectly at night. Given the rugged terrain here, one can see people hiding in dense bush, crags and ravines, where you would not normally see someone hiding.
“Three weeks ago, I tracked down 10 of my cows, which were being driven into Lesotho. The thieves got away, but I got my cows back.”
Meyer, who has been on an international aviation course on regulations governing drone operations, said though there were strict rules about international airspace, he could fly his drone along the border and conduct surveillance into Lesotho for kilometres. “The information I get I feed to authori- ties there who effect arrests and recover the stolen cattle.”
KwaZulu-Natal cattle farmer Rob Baras, who farms in Underberg, said he bought his drone to deter poaching and stock theft.
A Free State farmer who did not want to be named said he and another farmer recently flew their drone into Lesotho, tracking cattle thieves.
Crossing the border
“We tried to cut them off, but by the time we got to the border they were over. We then used the drone to search for them, spotting them about 4km inside Lesotho,” he said.
“We contacted Lesotho officials and they helped round up the cattle. One shouldn’t cross the border, but the theft does not stop. It’s destroying us. If we close down our farms our workers will also be out of work.”
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba said no licence or certificate was required if drones were used privately.
“There are no restrictions on the use of cameras mounted onto drones. However, the invasion of privacy, flying near or over national key points, or over crowds to take photos is prohibited unless the relevant permits have been obtained.”
Ledwaba said though anti-crime initiatives could be categorised as private operations, operating in the airspace of another country without permission was not allowed. “Most modern drones, however, have restricted airspaces programmed into their normal operations and therefore the device will not enter these restricted areas.”