– I have never seen the drones before, but knew that the neighboring plot was rented out to a drone company. This time the operators were right next to me, and there was a loud noise from the big drones. Farmer Bengt Stangeland looks out over the tall grass on his field at Voll in Klepp municipality. Leisure time has been spent driving around looking for the heifers that disappeared on Monday last week. Bengt Stangeland. Photo: Kristina Kassab Liland / news That afternoon he picked up the binoculars to look for the heifers that he had just let out on the pasture. Then I saw a drone that I thought was quite close due to its size, but when he landed behind some spruce trees a kilometer away, I realized that he was far away. Stangeland was aware and started going towards the drone. The heifers were also curious, and began to follow the food father. – The cows discovered the drone, were terrified and ran over the stone garden between the pasture and the neighboring plot. They are lively when they do not have their head with them. Now the stone garden has been cleared after the heifers ran over and tore down both the fence and the stones. Photo: Kristina Kassab Liland / news Both the boy, friends, neighbors and drone operators have been involved in the search for the cows. We were found drowned in a drainage foam with about 20 centimeters of water in it, Stangeland said. Fire is missing. Will get off the beaten track Due to the incident on Klepp, the drone company behind it, KVS Technologies, has decided to end test flights on the site. – It was a sad and unfortunate outcome, and we do not want to end up in such a situation again, says operations manager at KVS, Jimmy Boström. They have rented the plot for five years to test fly their drones. Here they have flown every week. The company has never experienced that cows have been frightened by warts before. – But we have other test areas, and think that we should find other test areas far away from agriculture and all roads. KVS Technologies manufactures and uses drones for, among other things, inspection of the power grid. Boström says that specially built drones for net inspection weigh about 25 kg and make more noise than the smaller drones. According to him, the noise level is noticeable, but significantly lower than the sound of a helicopter. Helicopters are also used to inspect power grids. KVS is currently in talks with the farmer Stangeland. Stangeland confirms that he is satisfied with how KVS handles the case. – We have liability insurance and are definitely willing to help Stangeland, says Boström. – We can never take animal welfare lightly Anders Martinsen, director of the interest organization for professional drone operators UAS Norway, says the incident shows that the drone industry should cooperate with farmers on flying in the vicinity of grazing areas. The heifers of Bengt Stangeland. KVS Technologies has had a test fly for five years, but never before have the animal warts been as frightened as they were this time. Photo: Kristina Kassab Liland / news – The case is an example that we can never take animal welfare lightly and must always be careful to ensure that we pay attention to people and animals who may be affected by drone flying. The situation is still unusual, he points out. – The outcome is tragic. We should nevertheless keep in mind that animals such as horses, sea eagles, moose and grazing animals have, in our experience, not been particularly affected or rescued due to drones. Martinsen emphasizes that KVS Technologies must have a permit from the landowner for departure and landing, but is not obliged to give neighbor notice. – But that does not mean that it does not make sense. It all depends on the situation and must be considered in a quarter of individual cases, says Martinsen.
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