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c/news · by technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3d

FAA Investigates Drone Pilot Who Films Animal Abusers

https://theintercept.com/2026/09/08/faa-drone-pilot-animal-abuse-cattle-farm/

The cattle ranch at the center of the case demands strict drone regulations, saying legal flyovers threatened “food security.”

175 points · 11 comments · view on lemmy.world

11 Comments

Lexam@lemmy.world · 55 pts · 3d (2 replies)

"This is disgusting, corporate farms should be able to abuse their animals in private." Next Fox tagline.

usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml · 24 pts · 3d

They have been pushing to silence animal rights investigations for decades. Many of the modern techniques used against activists today originated from the crack down on animal rights groups

They have also been long pushing for laws called ag-gag laws to sensor reporting on what goes on inside animal agriculture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ag-gag

Blibly@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 3d

They already rail against woke environmentalists and animals rights advocates. They're already there. These people are evil and always have been.

IamSparticles@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 3d (1 reply)

One commenter was Grimmius Cattle Co. Its chief operating officer Austin Flores complained that an activist group had submitted more than 30 hours of footage of another farm to law enforcement agencies.
“This is the end goal of these surveillance campaigns: to generate enough material to file complaints, trigger investigations, and create regulatory and legal pressure against lawful agricultural operations,” Flores said in a written statement submitted on July 6. “The footage is a tool, and producers have no current airspace protection to prevent it from being gathered.”

I fail to see the part where they claim there is any substantive risk to food security. Like, yes, exactly, they are using the footage to trigger investigations. Because you're doing illegal things. Maybe stop doing the illegal things?

FurryMemesAccount@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 2d

Also if you're legal, why do you care that drones look for evidence otherwise? There shouldn't be any.

usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 3d

Also if anyone was curious like I was, I believe this was the drone footage in question https://youtu.be/2hxp7j2XJXA

anarchy79@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 3d (2 replies)

They're investigating the animal abuser too, right?

Right?

partofthevoice@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 2d

More like gathering a set of barely plausible reasons why someone might not want an unauthorized drone in the airspace above their farm, so that they can push for reform that protects abusers.

Taldan@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d

The FAA only investigates aviation incidents. They're avtually a well run administration

I expect the outcome of this investigation will be that the pilot was in accordance with FAR part 107

The FAA is toothless when it comes to punishments. Their investigations generally are about whether or not to change regulations, and I wouldn't expect any regulation changes here. Strengthening drone pricacy protections would make it difficult for law enforcement to continue utilizing them

One regulation change we may see would be expanding the activities requiring a part 107 license. There is a whole lot of drone flight you can do without one, which makes the FAA entirely powerless to ever punish violations from uncertified pilots

jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 2d

who could have seen this coming when the FAA required licensing for drone operation

Burn_The_Right@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 2d
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bloviate@lemmus.org · -2 pts · 2d

Unfortunately all farming - including vegetables - involves doing unpleasant things to mammals.