Dutch police are training eagles to take out illegal drones

Posted on 2 February 2016

Just imagine. There are a group of Dutch policemen sitting around a table, brainstorming ways to take down illegal drones.

In the wrong hands, drones could easily pose a serious threat: they could obstruct the landing of an air ambulance. They could be rigged with explosives. They could even record incriminating footage of taxpayers’ money being spent on crunchy cheese snacks. There’s a hush. Finally, one brave soul pipes up: “Has anybody here watched The Hobbit?”

 
We’ll probably never know whose grand idea this was, but it’s being taken seriously: the Dutch police force has teamed up with raptor training company Guard From Above to test the practicality of using avian hunting instincts as a security measure.

 

Watch the video


Video by Vocativ

 
It’ll be a few months before they figure out whether this is viable. In terms of whether this could be harmful to the birds, Guards from Above issued the statement below:

 

In nature, birds of prey often overpower large and dangerous prey. Their talons have scales, which protect them, naturally, from their victims’ bites. Of course, we are continuously investigating any extra possible protective measures we can take in order to protect our birds. The Dutch National Police has asked the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) to research the possible impact on the birds’ claws. The results are not yet known. We are working closely with the Dutch National Police on the development of our services.

 






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