Hot air balloons responsible for deaths

The issue of low flying aircraft and the effect they can have on laying flocks has been making headlines again recently.

Caplor Farm in Herefordshire’s Wye Valley has only 300 laying hens, but Abbi Vincent-Lloyd says she has lost 30 birds as a result of low flying. The main culprits were hot air balloons flying over the farm after taking off from nearby Holme Lacey, she said. The balloons came over at just 60 feet above ground, creating panic amongst her laying hens. "Every time a balloon came over they went nuts. They were terrified of the balloons. I have never seen them react like that before," said Abbi, who said her vet recognised the problem as soon as she mentioned hot air balloons to him. "He told me that hot air balloons were the birds’ biggest number one fear."

It is a problem of which BFREPA chairman Tom Vesey is well aware. His own birds have been affected by low flying in the past and he has dealt with balloonists in an attempt to ensure that they avoid free range farms wherever possible - or fly at a height that reduces their effect on the livestock below.

"When it happened to me several years ago it was a very still evening. The balloon was obviously coming towards the end of its flight. It was low and moving slowly. The birds panicked. I had a lot of deaths. On top of that there was the stress on the other birds and that crop was ruined as a result. I lost quite a lot of money. Of course, the balloonist may offer to compensate for the birds that have died but it is the loss as a result of stress to the other birds that is more difficult for him to understand. It is also difficult for the producer to show that loss," said Tom.

Claire Knott of Crowshall Veterinary Services said, "Ground living birds are always worried about predatory attacks from above. Hot air balloons move very slowly, they are noisy and big and often cast a shadow. For the hens it is like seeing some sort of giant threat above and they head for cover." She said the birds tended to rush immediately for the pop holes. When you had a lot of birds all trying to get through the pop holes at the same time, the result was inevitably death and injury. Some birds died of suffocation, others were injured and may subsequently suffer from peritonitis. The hens also suffered the effects of stress, she said.

Tom said it was a problem that could easily be avoided. Following the incident on his own farm he had contacted the company involved and provided it with a document detailing the location of all the free range egg farms he knew. That list has been updated only recently. "I asked that they either avoid those locations or fly over them at a height of at least 2,000 feet," said Tom. "It is when the balloon flies low and slowly - and particularly when they switch the burner on - that the birds are really panicked. I have not had any problem since that incident and since I put that list together. If producers do have a problem the balloonists can be contacted and it can be sorted out."

The problems at Caplor Farm have been resolved since the ballooning company involved, Go Ballooning, re-routed its flights. Pilots have been told to steer clear of the farm or only pass over it at high altitude. The company’s flight operations director, Claire Hossack, said, "If we are going to cause a problem we will either divert the flight or fly at an altitude that will not cause a problem." She said there was a national system that warned balloonists of sensitive areas to avoid. It was operated by the British Balloon and Airship Club. Locations of farms where problems could be caused were marked on a national map, which was sent out to balloon operators. "That is useful because it points out these places to balloonists who are perhaps new to the area they are flying over," said Claire. She said that balloonists tried hard to make sure they did not harm or distress any animals they flew over.

If producers are having problems, they can contact the British Balloon and Airship Club through the club’s web site at bbac.org

Abbi said the flock had returned to normal since the balloon flights had been diverted. She said that RAF jets flying nearby did not have as much effect as the balloons, although she has written to the Ministry of Defence about the low flying aircraft.

Peter Sinclair, squadron leader for RAF community relations in Wales and the Marches, said the RAF tried wherever possible to work with local people to avoid problems from low flying, although low flying was a necessary part of a pilot’s training. "The RAF’s low flying programme is the absolute minimum we have to do to train pilots to be able to low fly, to be able to maintain the skill and train for operations before being sent overseas and put in harm’s way," he said. "I have to say it is a very demanding skill and it is perishable. It takes a lot of training to get it right but that training is not something that is done without strict control.

"I know there are stations where there are chicken farms nearby and we do work with local people to avoid them. I would encourage any farmers who are having angst about low flying to contact us. Talk to us about it and we will try our best to solve the problem," he said.