Hi there,
Just wondering if anyone can advise on current rules for the bird scarers that farmers install, the ones that make car alarm noises. Apparently they scare birds even though I saw birds sitting on them:)
The one on the field next to our house starts at 6-6:30am , goes off every 2 min and stops around midnight. Farmers move it from one small plot to another, all within half a mile and we can hear it for about 4 months now. We live in Lot et Garonne. Did anyone try to address such issue and how to go about it? We tried turning it off ourselves but they just turn it back on and even louder. Thank you!
Unfortunately farmers generally have the upper hand in these sorts of things as agriculture is sacrosanct here. As you will have seen in last months with the various protests they get to do what they like. And the neo-rural population (ie incomers) are given less consideration.
And if the farmer has habitually done this since before you moved then will be covered by the new law which specifically provides an exception for farmers.
This is an automatic translation of the main paragraphs:
At the initiative of the Senate, an article was added to the rural code to provide for specific additional exemptions for agricultural activities.
A farmer is not liable if the changes are a result of changing activity to meet new standards/regulations.
They also cannot be held liable if no “substantial” changes to the nature or intensity of its agricultural activity. This case targets the natural changes in the life of a farm (increase, diversification…). It will be up to the judge to determine what is or is not a substantial change.
These additional exemptions are justified, according to parliamentarians, by the need to protect rural territories.
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Not surprised. The best way to get on with neighbouring farmers is to make friends with them, or at least aim for some sort of rapport. Have you tried talking to him/her about it?
Every 2 minutes does seem excessive. We have two on either side of us, but they are like gun shots and I’d say they go off every 5-10 minutes or so. Not that I notice any more.
Also, not turning them off until midnight seems unnecessary - most pigeons (and it is mainly pigeons) are in bed by dusk - admittedly that’s quite late at the moment.
Certainly discussing it directly with the farmer is your best route but an alternative is to see whether your mayor might be prepared to negotiate on your behalf. (Don’t bank on it though. As @JaneJones says, farmers rule the roost round here - also L&G)
Your one comfort might be that most crops are up by now, so they may not need the bird scarers much longer.
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Just ask the farmers who they voted for and you may get your answer.
well, having been to the Mairie on other business… I did raise this topic with the Secretaire…
Seems it’s the Prefecture or Sub-Prefecture who control such things … and she suggests that is where you should enquire… if there is a real problem.
when I feebly mentioned the idea of talking with the Farmer… she said nowt, but “pulled a face” so I suppose that was not a good idea 
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Sorry I disagree! That depends on the farmer. We were told that our neighbouring farmer was “difficult” when we moved in. We were fortunate to meet him early on and it turned out that he was shy and assumed we wouldn’t speak French (the previous owners were second homers and I’m not sure they spoke much French, so they had problems with him).
Over the years he has literally got us out of ditches with his tractor - OH inclined to get too close to the edge when mowing and he has left a grass strip at the edge of his field so we can walk from our land straight down to the stream at the bottom of the valley.
How can the Secretaire in your commune have any idea what neighbourly relationships are like elsewhere?
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Like you… I have tried to get to know everyone here over the years … and would normally suggest talking directly to the farmer… or whomever was causing a “problem”… to find a friendly solution…
I am polite and friendly and find that works well…
I’m supposing she knows of negative results/experiences
quite possibly she feels it best for the person to find out from the person’s Prefecture/Sub-Prefecture exactly what the regulations are for this “bird-scaring”…
If it were me… once I knew “the Rules” I would either gently ask the farmer to cut-back (if he was over-doing it) or if he was well within his rights… I’d throw myself on his mercy and beg him to let me get some sleep… 
(in fact, knowing my neighbours… I’d not wait until I knew the Rules… but, on the other hand I wouldn’t touch their Scarer without their consent… )
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I fully endorse this view, right from the get go (10 years ago) having a house totally surrounded by farm land I figured it made sense to get on with the local farmer, hampered by Google Translate, the relationship (mainly thanks to UK beer delivery every time we return) has blossomed, maybe that’s a bit of a exaggeration but never the less I think getting on with your neighbour is the best default.
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making friends with the neighbours is (in my view) always worthwhile… and should start from Day-1 if possible… 
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Round our bit of L&G it’s mainly arable and increasingly “bio engagé”. Increasingly they seem to be switching to white flag scarers and paper birds of prey on tall stakes in the fields (no doubt cheaper than “guns” or hooters - no good if you are surrounded by orchards of course.
You’re an incomer.
This is a bit like the reported cases in the UK of people moving to a house next to a long established nightclub and then complaining about late night noise.
France has recently strengthened such legal protections in favour of farmers.
I’m with everybody above and personally I’d advise letting it go for the rest of this year then in the less agriculturally busy winter getting to know any nearby farmer slowly so they can get the idea you are reasonable people. Much later you can ask about if timing adjustment possible etc
However annoying it was, you may have wound them up by interfering with the device so I’d let some time pass. You can always explain after letting things settle and once you’ve chatted a bit, you had no idea what it was etc.
Life can be made easier or more difficult 
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You aren’t allowed to interfere with other people’s installations, particularly if it is work-related. It is disagreeable but you are living in a heavily agricultural département and they will consider you like those people who move to the country and complain about noisy frogs or poultry, or smells - your complaints are unlikely to be taken seriously I’m afraid. Work up to it by becoming known as a respectable nice person and people may listen more and put in a word for you.
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That would infuriate me, speaking as a French person, non mais de quel droit! It really won’t have helped the situation.
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What you should have done is introduced yourselves to your neighbour when you moved in.
Tampering with potentially dangerous equipment that doesn’t belong to you whilst trespassing was a huge mistake.
If your French is up to it, go visit the farmer with a bottle of Richard in hand and make a grovelling apology.
If not, use Google Translate to generate a letter of apology and post it his mailbox.
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I am sorry but I didn’t complain about frogs or smells or any agricultural things such as old watering systems that make noise while watering. And we were friendly with the farmers, always waving when they are in the fields on tractors. The farmers don’t own the land , they rent it. And they have other gas powered alarm which we never complained about. In addition they are using a part of our land-something we never argued about. I wasn’t asking for a lecture but for advice to stop the car alarm noise that lasted since March, every day. Thank you.
Thank you
Thanks a lot
I wonder what she was meaning? Disputes between neighbours start with the Marie, and can be escalated to gendarmes, rarely would a préfecture get involved?
Maybe it was the responsibility for controlling agricultural exploitation according to the norm? But personally the OP is on a road to nowhere if they try to get in authorities to intervene at this stage.
May be worth getting to know the person they rent from and ask if they could have a quiet word about timing and frequency.
Why apologise? I never said you complained about such things BUT that rural French people are likely to put you in the same basket as those who do.
As a French person, if I had done what you did, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Gendarmes turned up for a chat.
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as she said, it would be the P or SubP who gave the permission (whatever) for the Scarers and they would have the details of how-long/when etc … thus it could be judged if the Farmer was playing by the Rules or not…
The “permission” should be published and available.
(finding out the details is not the same as asking authorities to intervene)
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