Some farmers use drones in their daily work because they provide significant benefits, as we have already pointed out. In particular, the use of drones to rescue deer fawns is a very actual topic in Germany, now.

The use of drones has already protected countless fawns from death in Germany

When farmers want to mow their fields, they should do so from the inside out to scare away the animals hiding in the high grass. In addition, hunters and other helpers help by walking the fields before mowing.

Adult deer and other animals flee, but this technique does not work for fawns. They don’t have the instinct to flee and just stay in the high grass. This makes them even more difficult to find. In addition, they do not see the operating noises of the combine harvesters as a danger either. Due to that, thousands of fawns are killed every year.

The checking of a field is time-consuming, and the use of hunters and other helpers is also a financial and organizational effort. In order to reduce the preparation time for mowing, drones are being used to fly the fields. In the beginning, however, the drones were only equipped with a conventional RGB camera, which unfortunately only led to a partial success.

Drones with thermographic cameras brought the solution

Only the use of professional drones with thermal imaging cameras could really lead to success. They can fly the fields in a very short time and due to the temperature difference between the cold field and the warm animals, the fawns are clearly visible even in densely overgrown fields.

Helpers can reliably find the exact position of the roe deer fawns based on the photos and thus bring the animals to safety before the combine harvester plows through the field. However, the drones must still be deployed very early in the morning, otherwise, the ground may become too warm, making it difficult to find the animals.

Success expands

Meanwhile, there are success stories to the fawn rescue with drones from all over Germany. Currently, fawns are being rescued in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, and Lower Saxony. There are also examples from the Netherlands and Switzerland.

We are very pleased that the use of drones could already save innumerable animals from certain death.

Drone pilots are often volunteering

In addition to the exemplary farmers, the willingness of the drone pilots to act is particularly noteworthy. They often offer their services on a voluntary basis and act only for the benefit of the animals. As the use of drones with thermal imaging cameras is particularly successful, it should be noted that these devices come almost exclusively from the professional sector. Accordingly, the prices of these professional drones are often way higher than those of recreational drones.

Our contribution to the rescue of deer fawns

We have considered rewarding the drone pilots and supporting them in their work.

Therefore, we would like to give something to all drone pilots who help to rescue deer in Germany:

A 1-year license for MAP2FLY_PRO Unlimited for the first 10 drone pilots who contact us.

Requirements for obtaining the license

• Evidence of having already been involved in fawn rescues
• Alternatively, membership in one of the numerous associations for the rescue of fawn for all pilots who have just joined the fawn rescue and have not flown their own missions yet.

The license is valid for one year free of charge (worth € 79). Access to the Internet and a browser are required to use the software. MAP2FLY is also available as an app for iOS and Android. To use the license the registration at https://map2fly.flynex.de/ is required.

How MAP2FLY can help with fawn rescue

With our geodata from more than 165 valid sources, the user gets an overview of the regulations and laws that apply on the respective route directly during flight planning. Within a few clicks, drone pilots get an overview of everything they must consider during their flight.

Not every pilot knows how to behave when power pylons, motorways or country roads are in the immediate vicinity of their route. There are so many things that must be taken into account if you want to fly in compliance with regulations and laws that flight planning is immensely important. MAP2FLY offers the pilot the possibility to inform himself in advance about all laws and regulations. If the flight is planned in such a way that all requirements are met, it is also easy to obtain a permit from the relevant state aviation authority if the drone weighs more than 5 kg or is used commercially. Since the farmers often contact the drone pilots with short notice by telephone, simple and fast flight planning is indispensable. This is exactly where MAP2FLY can help with its fast and reliable flight planning capabilities.

MAP2FLY_PRO Unlimited offers the following advantages over the free version:

• Storage of an unlimited number of projects
• Up to 3 drones with a total of 9 batteries can be managed
• Cloud storage of 5 GB

The software can be used for fawn rescue as well as for all other purposes.

If you want to have a look at our map in advance, you can test Map2Fly_Pro for free.

Procedure for drone pilots

Interested pilots are kindly requested to contact us by e-mail at info@flynex.de
Everything else will be explained by our service team, directly.

We hope that our software can play its part in promoting agriculture in an environmentally friendly and efficient way. If also thereby still the well-being of the fawn can be ensured, all the better!

The FlyNex Team