Cannons rattling B.C. blueberry farm neighbours

Propane-fuelled cannons used to scare birds off Surrey, B.C., blueberry farms have prompted a local resident to file a lawsuit over the racket.

Jim McMurtry says the cannons firing every few seconds can be heard constantly throughout Cloverdale community during blueberry season, and the noise is more than people should have to put up with. The cannons sound like gunshots when they fire.

"[It's like] I'm living in Afghanistan," said McMurtry. "This is a community where families live, where people like to sleep in on a Saturday morning, where you don't want your cat and dog jumping every time there's a gunshot sound."

McMurtry lives a few blocks from a blueberry farm and said the eight-hours of noise every day have forced neighbours to move and lowered property values since local farmers started growing blueberries about seven years ago, and using cannons to deter birds. Farmer willing to negotiate.

McMurtry said he has no animosity for the farmers. "I'm suing the City of Surrey because the City of Surrey's been highly irresponsible by not enforcing its bylaws," he said.

Blueberry farmer Navdeep Sekhon said he already loses 10 to 20 per cent of his crop to birds. Sekhon said the cannons have been the most cost-effective answer and he refuses to use protective nets like some other farms. "We don't use that just because it ends up hurting birds and killing the birds within the nets. They get caught in them," Sekhon said.

Sekhon said farmers and residents will have to come up with a solution together. "You know, we're going to stay here for a very long time, so are they," said Sekhon. "We don't mind coming to the table and coming up with solutions, ideas, brainstorming."

from the CBC's Alan Waterman