Dutch Police Use Trained Eagles to Tackle Drone Problem
Apparently the Dutch have a problem and it doesn’t stem from years of liberal social freedoms. In fact, there’s is a technological one – the country has too many drones.
The authorities’ proposed method of combating the issue is rather unique however. Using an ingenious, low-cost, totally organic solution they are currently testing trained Eagles as a way of ridding the airways of unlicensed drones.
The nuisance of drones is growing, and not just in the Netherlands. Drone operators are able to get away with misconduct as they are often hidden from view. The authorities find them difficult to detect where they are to take action against them.
Seeing an opportunity in the market, raptor training company ‘Guard From Above’ came up with the idea to make use of eagles’ natural hunting instincts.
The company claims to be the first in the world to use birds of prey to intercept hostile drones. In conjunction with the Dutch police force, they are in the process of creating a fleet of police eagles that are trained to attack and snatch drones in mid-air.
“The eagle sees the drone as its prey,” explained Sjoerd Hoogendoorn, who works for the company. “So he tries to take it to a safe location and guard it once he gets there.”
The idea is only in the testing stages at the moment. It will be several months before they decide if it’s the best solution or not.
