Hundreds of crows pestering the freshly sown maize: an organic farmer saw only the alternative of chasing the animals away with noise.
He has set up a blast alarm device that sounds the same to the surrounding areas - and at a decent volume.
Olching
- It's a rather inconspicuous device that stands there in a field between Olching and Groebenzell.
But it has been causing a stir for about two weeks.
A mini-explosion is ignited at regular intervals using a gas cylinder and an electric valve, which creates a decent sound wave that can be heard as far as the center of Gröbenzell.
And apparently also in Olching.
No wonder it didn't take long for the first to speculate on social networks: Who is shooting in the early morning hours?
There was talk of completely frightened dogs who thought it was New Year's Eve every day.
The answer from the Internet community was not long in coming: This is where crows are driven away.
Crows damage several thousand euros
And that's exactly how it is.
The field belongs to the Schanderl family from Emmering.
Michael Schanderl, organic farmer and former mayor, planted maize there.
The seeds were planted before Corpus Christi.
The nasty surprise followed shortly afterwards: "The crows have taken over a third," explains Schanderl.
The damage amounts to several thousand euros.
The neighboring towns of Olching and Puchheim in particular are known to suffer from a real plague of crows.
Olching recently had to free a kindergarten from complete fouling and even received a special permit for this.
Residents of Groebenzell complain about a murderous noise from the animals.
Now farmers are hit hard.
According to Tagblatt information, someone had to sow his seeds for the second time.
The situation is dramatic for organic farmers, as Schanderl explains.
In contrast to conventional agriculture, one cannot fall back on effective dressing agents that keep the birds away.
The rooks are also protected and are therefore subject to strict conditions for deterrence.
And again the crows come
Schanderl saw only one way to save his harvest: the bang device, which shoots three times in a row about every 45 minutes, according to Schanderl at 5.30 a.m. at the earliest and at 9 p.m. at the latest.
"There was no alternative." He had discussed this with the police and the hunting tenant.
The hunting tenant had doubts after all.
That is why the machine was switched off again and a few blank firing attempts were made.
The result: Shortly afterwards, an estimated hundred crows were in the field, looting properly.
So there was another bang - for ecological cultivation.
But there is a problem precisely from this point of view.
Because Schanderl shouldn't have set up the device that easily.
As Simon Bausewein, spokesman for the district office, who did not have any information on the specific case, explains that it must be checked beforehand whether there are any ground-nesting animals in the area that would be endangered by the noise.
An administrative offense?
In addition, the field is close to residential development and emission control could play a role.
In other words: Such a device should at least have been reported to the responsible nature conservation authority.
A violation is even to be punished as an administrative offense.
The fines would amount to up to 50,000 euros, but that is the maximum amount.
Michael Schanderl, who at least told the police and the hunting tenant, admits that he has not fully investigated who to inform.
He is aware of the problem with the ground breeders, but considers it very unlikely that there are any in the field.
"It just shows very clearly the conflicts that we organic farmers have to master."
The scarecrow will probably not stand much longer.
When the corn is stable enough, peace will return.
Only the crows and the problems with them remain.
Also interesting:
This is the booth at the rooks in Puchheim
