Northern Territory to introduce noise guidelines for bird-scaring devices

ABC Rural
By Matt Brann
Posted Wed at 5:24am

The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has revised a set of guidelines for farmers using bird-scaring devices and expects they will be implemented early next year.

After receiving an increasing number of noise complaints relating to bird-scaring devices (BSD), such as gas guns, the EPA released a set of draft guidelines earlier this year for public comment.
The response from some Northern Territory farmers was scathing, with many telling ABC Rural that the EPA's proposed "operating limits" for scaring devices would be disastrous.

The EPA has since revised the guidelines, including changing the maximum noise level for any shot from 80dB to 100dB, and changing the operating times of bird-scaring devices from 7:00am–7:00pm to a simple "dawn to dusk" approach.

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