What evil affects the cows of the breeding of Frédéric Sagères, in Haute-Loire? “In fifteen years, we have never had cows like that. There are mornings, I cry”, laments the breeder. For him, his cows are emaciated and only eat to survive. Food rations have dropped. “Today, the production is not there”, affirms Frédéric Sagères, who ensures that the problems began after the arrival of a 4G antenna, installed 250 m from the farm. The farm’s milk production collapsed when it started up last summer. Today, supported by local farmers and trade unions, the breeder fights to turn off the 4G antenna, responsible, according to Frédéric Sagères, for the discomfort of his cows.
But what do we really know about the effects of this antenna? It emits electromagnetic waves. They could, by touching the metal structure of the installation, create “parasitic currents” to which the cows are very sensitive. But the level of waves measured here seems very low for Joe Wiart, general engineer of Mines, at the Institut Mines-Télécom. “These are field levels which are firstly very below human standards, and secondly, which will not generate very high field levels, including between two legs of an animal”, explains the expert. The measurements made on site by the Chamber of Agriculture did not reveal any worrying electrical levels, either on the metal structure or on the ground.
The second potential effect is electromagnetic waves, which arrive directly in the body of animals. However, today, we cannot say that at this level, they are harmful to faces. This was stated in a parliamentary report last year. This report also underlined the lack of studies on the subject. Impossible, therefore, to make the link with the antenna and impossible to explain the deterioration of the state of health of these animals, confirmed by the veterinarians. Justice still asked to turn off the pylon for two months to see how the cows are doing.