Bird Scarers

The use of bird scarers is considered necessary to protect many crops including oilseed rape, fruit and field vegetables from damage by wild birds.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has produced a Code of Practice on the use of bird scarers. It is considered by the Environmental Protection Team that farmers should ensure that they comply with the requirements of this guidance and that if they do so, they are unlikely to cause a statutory nuisance.

Making a complaint:

The Environmental Protection Team can investigate complaints where farmers are not operating a bird scarer in accordance with the NFU Code of Practice and a resident is being significantly affected by the noise.

We will normally telephone you to discuss the problem. We will then try to contact the farmer responsible. If the owner of the land cannot be identified it may be necessary for you to pinpoint the source of the noise on a map before we can investigate. We may need to visit your property to assess the noise disturbance.