Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Farmer hits back over ‘booms’ complaints
A FARMER has hit back after people in Broughty Ferry complained his crop protection measures were causing loud booms to echo through the area.
Murray McDonald has been using “banger ropes” to chase pigeons away from his cauliflower plants on land at Balmossie Farm, on the outskirts of the town.
The bird-scaring devices run for about six hours at a time, discharging periodically to keep the animals from destroying the growing crops.
However, people have taken to social media to complain about the noise, claiming the booming sounds can often be heard into the night and in the early hours of the morning.
Some residents said their dogs were being frightened by the sounds, with one claiming it sounded like a “car back-firing”.
Mr McDonald, of The Crofts Farm, near Carmyllie, said pigeons will only threaten the crops for the first eight to 10 weeks and that the bangers would no longer be needed in five or six days’ time.
“We are just scaring pigeons off the land,” Mr McDonald said.
“It’s from maybe 7am until evening. They are normally off by 9pm.
“It’s cauliflower we have there. It is part of the procedure we need to go through to produce.
“It is a rope banger. Pigeons will affect the crops for the first eight to 10 weeks. It is about 90 days.”
He added that the council was “happy” after visiting the farm to inspect the operation.
A local authority spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the situation and are in discussions with the affected parties.”