Misleading Quotes from Propane Cannon Supporters

In the past year or so, I have heard all sorts of false and misleading arguments used by those who support the use of propane cannons. After a recent barrage of propane cannon misinformation in a local newspaper, I thought it was time to add a page to this site and list all the false and misleading quotes that cannon supporters are feeding the public. What is motivating these people to say virtually anything to perpetuate the use of propane cannons, when they know that these devices are impacting the lives of so many people in the Fraser Valley? The bottom line really is that propane cannons produce noise pollution at upwards of 120 decibels, which is louder than a jack hammer. Neighboring farmers and non-farmers alike are forced to listen to these blasts all day long, dawn to dusk, for four months of the year. No amount of misinformation can justify the wrong that is being done to so many Fraser Valley citizens. The following is the list of flabbergasting quotes, and my thoughts on each of them:

• Hey folks, a recent article in the West Coast Farmer set an all time record for blueberry BS. It is so good that I have to repeat it word for word. The article is an interview with the director of a Pitt Meadows blueberry processing facility, and the following is what this fellow has to say when asked to comment about the use of propane cannons:
  He considers the revised guidelines implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture for the use of bird control devices a deterent to farming. (Someone should tell this fellow that real farms that grow valued crops, raise beef cattle, etc. do not use cannons. Grape for wine and blueberrys for muffins are of litle value when it comes to feeding the world's populations. These two crops are just about making money and we could all get along quite nicely without them and their cannons!)
  "We are trying to work with local authorities to minimize complaints". (At Ban the Cannons we realize that they have been trying to minimize complaints for years. We are trying to bring the actual number of complaints out into the open so that everyone understands how intolerable the situation is.
  He realizes that farmers and adjoining residents must find a balance that will accomodate the needs of the farmer and the effect on the urban area. (These dopes refuse to budge one inch on the propane cannon issue, as witnessed by the statement above about the new regulations. All they gave up was a lousy half hour in the day, and this they consider a detriment to farming. They show no willingness to compromise.
  "Twenty years ago you would have driven up to 15 miles to reach the local farming area. Now urban expansion has moved that boundary up to where the two are joined". (This is the same old farmer/non-farmer issue and it is dead wrong. More than 50% of our members are farmers or long time rural residents. The real problem is that the number of blueberry farms has more than tripled in the past ten years, and the use of propane cannons has become their main bird deterent weapon.)
  "All of a sudden urban residents have become aware of cannon noise, tractor noise, manure and spray smells, etc" {Not so, people have been complaining about cannon noise for years, but the only manure odour that really bothers people is the stink from articles like this one in the West Coast Farmer!)
  And finally, "He feels farmers need a voice to protect their interests and to ensure the younger generation continues to farm. (What does this mean? If we take away their cannons, they will no longer blueberry farm. Wouldn't that be nice!
  
  
• The latest, from the Abbotsford News, on August 20th, 2002,
  Those who have aired beefs about cannons haven't called back after he (Rick Dulat, of the BC Blueberry Council) has mediated a complaint, an indication that the program is making a difference. What are these people smoking on their coffee breaks? One of our members has phoned back four times and cannons are still booming out of control in her area. Another has worn his e-mail fingers to the bone in Surrey. New violations are "popping up" every day, but the BC Blueberry Council, the very group who condones and promotes the use of cannons are telling the media that everything is just wonderful out there in the blueberry patch! What a joke!
  
  
• We (the blueberry farmers) were here first. This quote is a favourite of the blueberry community, and probably one of the first arguments they use to defend cannons. And it is dead wrong! The number of acres planted in blueberries has more than tripled in the past ten years. New farms and berry fields are popping up everywhere, and yet these growers continue to say that they were here first. Hogwash!!
  In most cases normal farmers were here first and they are being encrouched upon as the blueberry industry expands. That is the reason so many people in the farm community are upset about propane cannons.
  But even if a grower was here first, no one should have the right to inflict this kind of noise pollution on their neighbors, whether they were "here first" or not!
  
  
• This is a farmer vs non farmer issue. This is another classic used by blueberry growers, and the so-called blueberry experts. They are attempting to make all complainers look like urbanites who have just moved to "Green Acres" and are now upset by a little bit of noise. Well this argument is a lot of horse manure!
  Our group, Ban the Cannons, is probably made up of fifty per cent farmers or people who work in the agriculture industry. That's why we live in the country. Our group includes cattle and dairy farmers, sheep farmers, a large scale poultry operator, a veterinarian, owners of several equestrian operations, llama breeders, bee keepers, a horticulturalist, and yes folks we even have a blueberry grower (incognito) in our group who doesn't use cannons, can't stand them and sees no need for them.
  The other group that is strongly represented are people who live on the edge of the ALR on residential land, and who municipal governments should be protecting. However noise makers are protected by the Ministry of Agriculture, and their right to make noise, oops sorry, their Right to Farm Act.
  
  
• Get used to it or go back to the city. This brilliant editorial quotation was made recently by a local newspaper. It ties in with the kind of thinking expressed above, that most complainers are people who have moved from the city onto acreage. As one member mentioned, do you think I could keep my livestock on a condominium balcony?
  
  
• Noise complaints are frivolous. This quote was made by a Kelowna grape grower who had installed cannons about sixty yards from a neighbor's house. The people tried in vain to have him move the cannons and finally filed a formal complaint to the Farm Practices Board. Even the Farm Practices Board could not overlook this complaint and scheduled a formal hearing. For more details see our Kelowna page.
  
  
• Cannon noise is an annoyance. This is a favorite of blueberry experts in an attempt to downplay the seriousness of having to live beside cannons going off at 120 decibels. If you think noise of this magnitude is a mere annoyance, please read our Impacts of Noise page, and then follow up by reading some of the links, such as what the World Health Organization says about noise, or the sites that discuss the Impacts of Noise on Children, etc.
  
  
• People living within the ALR need to lower their expectations. This is one of my personal favorites. I have to listen to two blasts per minute from the end of June through October, and I really should just hush up and lower my expectations. Wherever you live, just imagine if a nearby neighbor started shooting a shotgun at 6:30 in the morning, and carried on all day firing two shots per minute until dusk. And when you went to complain about it, the person you spoke to told you to just "lower your expectations" and put up with it.
  Yea, right!
  
  
• Some who complain are residents with "attitude". This gem was actually published in Ministry of Agriculture documents released in February of 2002. The title of the document is "The Use of Audible Bird Scare Devices in British Columbia in 2001". This document is also online, on the Ministry's site, but it is a 65 page PDF file, so you probably don't want to bother with it. But if you must, it is stated on page 48, "Further examples of attitude include a caller who........".
  This is the kind of attitude that we have to deal with when trying to make people understand what it is like living with propane cannons.
  
  
• 50% of my blueberry crop would be gone in a couple of weeks. This quote is from a Matsqui Prairie grower who insists that cannons are the only way to go! Interestingly enough there are other Matsqui Prairie farmers who net large acreages, and some farms that use no bird protection at all and survive very nicely. One such farm is Matsqui Blue. Read what they say about cannons on their web site. You should also read what they say about pesticides. After viewing their site I am sure you will start thinking organic when it comes to blueberries. I wonder if there is a connection between flagrant cannon use and the indiscriminate use of herbicides and pesticides? Oh yes, this quote was from the June 11, 2002 edition of the Abbotsford Times.
  
  
• Nets are too expensive to use. This argument is used consistently by berry farmers and the blueberry experts. But whenever they quote costs, they talk about purely manual processes for putting up and taking down nets. Someone should tell these guys about automation, or they could check out our Automated Netting Systems page. Current BC stats quote upwards of 20 man hours to net one acre. Automated systems can net several acres per hour.
  The real issue is that installing cannons is one of the cheapest solutions around, even if cannons are only marginally effective in deterring birds. And who cares about the noise. The absentee land owner living in Vancouver can't hear the cannons anyway. But he is going to hear from us!
  
  
• Netting is too low for automated picking machines. One of the absolutely dumbest arguments used by the blueberry community. A recent article in the Abbotsford News, (June 08/02, page C7) stated that 85% of blueberries are hand picked, so only 15% of the blueberry crop is harvested by picking machines anyway. Also if the remaining 15% had a problem, they could simply install higher poles and nets. This quote should win a prize, but the next one is even better.
  
  
• Propane Cannons are the single most effective method of deterring birds. This is a direct quote from the June 11, 2002 edition of the Abbotsford Times made by a BC Blueberry Council bigwig. One can only assume that he/she was misquoted, because even a strong cannon supporter has to admit if you want to make 100% sure that birds stay out of your field, you use nets. Also, the berry grower's bible, the BC Ministry of Agriculture's Berry Production Guide, 2002/2003 Edition states on page 17 that, "Netting is the most effective way to keep birds out of the field and it is usually acceptable to neighbours".
  This propane cannon statement is quite unbelievable but typical of the kind of nonsense these people are feeding the public.
  
  

As the long hot summer in the Fraser Valley drags on, and this issue continues to heat up, we are going to be hearing more and more dumb reasons why blueberry growers have to use propane cannons. The above list is certainly going to get longer.

But in reality, there really is no good reason why anyone should be permitted to use propane cannons and bombard their neighbors with noise pollution at levels up to 120 decibels. Noise at this level is more than a nuisance, it is a health hazard.