Drones are a boon for many and a bane for others, all the while providing endless fodder for quirky stories like the following.
There are some crazy proposals out there for regulating drone use but this one out of the Netherlands takes the cake.
The Trump administration has announced mandatory drone registration in the United States, the United Kingdom is testing and licensing drone pilots, and the world’s largest consumer drone manufacturer DJI is trying to self-regulate its portion of the industry so you might be wondering: What’s left?
In the Netherlands, the police launched a program to train eagles to take down drones while in flight – in other words, these birds of prey were learning how to hunt and disable drones.
It might not surprise you to further learn that this harebrained scheme has now come to an end, thanks to the work of animal activists that had taken issue with the program. The dangers posed to the eagles, while myriad, mainly centered around the potential hazards larger drone aircraft could pose to an eagle’s legs.
With enough force to easily maim and kill the creature, it became apparent that using an eagle may not be the safest, most humane option when the animal’s rights are considered.
Ostensibly trained to prevent terrorism, the eagles demonstrated that, even after hours of training, they very much had a mind of their own.
In addition, the eagles did not always perform as needed and their unpredictable behavior could make a chaotic situation involving potential terrorist threats all the more dangerous. Not only that, but they are expensive to feed and the upkeep costs are high as well.
The eagles are now in a sanctuary while Dutch authorities consider other options for combating the rise of drones and the potential hazards unauthorized drones pose to airspace and sensitive areas.
