TasFarmers, Media Release, 30 May 2024

Tasmania’s peak body for farmers, TasFarmers, is raising the alarm about the increasing use of drones in rural areas for illegal activities and privacy concerns.

Ian Sauer, President of TasFarmers, said farmers have been increasingly reporting the sighting of drones flying over agricultural land under 500 feet. These drones may be surveying for various reasons, including mineral exploration or other unknown, potentially illegal purposes.

“We’re seeing people pulling up on the side of roads and using drones to inspect sheds, houses, outbuildings, and vehicles,” Mr. Sauer said.

“So, we don’t know whether they’re just curious onlookers, thieves casing the property, or animal activists.”

There have also been reports of drones being flown into calf sheds and dairies. Mr Sauer noted that modern drones can fly quite some distance from the operator and are equipped with high-definition cameras.

“The impact on farmers is nerve-racking, as they don’t know if the purpose of the drone is to poach animals, steal equipment, or take images that could be used out of context.

“We’re hearing reports of people looking for deer with large antlers for trophies, to flying around the farm to look at access points.  There are people out there clearly using drones for illegal activity.

“Photos can be used against the farmer. Someone taking a photo can be highly selective. You can have a photo of a sheep having a lamb or a cow having a calf, and that’s just a still photo. It can look quite distressing to many people because they don’t realise this is just a normal thing,” Mr Sauer explained.

“What we would like to see is regulation under federal law with greater penalties for the use of drones over farms. Currently farmers under the law can’t do anything about a drone if it’s flying around their property.

There should be harsh penalties for the illegal use of drones to spy on agricultural properties or for flying near animals and buildings,” said Mr Sauer.