Noted without comment from PETA's website:
The drones are being sold in our catalog, and PETA aims to see a fleet of Air Angels patrolling the skies this fall, capturing footage of hunters engaging in cruel and/or illegal activities—such as shooting deer from the side of the road, baiting fields for ducks or geese, or using dogs to chase turkeys. The footage can be streamed live via the Internet, uploaded to the Air Angels page on PETA.org, and delivered to game wardens in order to apprehend and prosecute offenders.
Research shows that 60 percent of animals who are shot by hunters flee into the woods to die slowly and in pain. For every animal killed by a bowhunter, another escapes injured. Wounded animals can suffer for days or even weeks before dying. In addition, when a mother is shot, her offspring are often left behind to starve to death or be killed by predators.
Wildlife watchers outnumber wildlife killers five to one—and if even a fraction of these kind people use Air Angels, they'll go a long way toward exposing hunters' dirty secrets. With PETA's drones soaring overhead, we hope wildlife scofflaws will think twice before heeding the call of the vile.
Comments
THIS will be fun to watch....... *opens concession stand* Get your fresh popcorn and ice cold drinks here!
A.R. Drone Effective Range 50 meters
.338 Lapua Effective Range 2500 meters
Enough said...... Cute orange parachute pants though.
Hi Gary,
Nasty outcome.
For those who haven't seen (shy) Gary's contribution, check out
https://sites.google.com/a/suasnews.com/ukulalela-listen/home
@Gary
PETA would be much better off advising anybody thinking of buying and ARDrone just to donate the money to your cause.
Expectation management might be an issue, much like all the delivery services that are popping up this is just cashing in on the press interest. There are a few of us that are doing real environmental work and know just how hard it actually is.
Yesterday I spent my morning looking for a collar that was attached to a caracal (lynx like cat) but had stopped moving, I found it in the end. A second animal on a study we are using an unmanned aircraft to act as a repeater on that has met a sticky end.
This cat was snared and then probably taken for use in traditional medicine.
Somebody had done something here as the collar was cut clean off with a very sharp something and dis guarded, a couple of meters away there had been a fire and empty spirits bottles were about. When we caught this cat it was pregnant and we were hoping the movement reduction was simply because she was holed up having her kittens. They will be out there somewhere not surviving now.
This fellow was a serval also caught in a snare and only the drone could find this collar, simply because the animal had been eaten by a jackal that had dragged the body about a bit and the collar was lying in a small hollow. It was actually in sight of a base station but the signal was not getting through. How do we know it was a jackal that ate it? It was caught in another snare nearby. We walked the fence and found more. I wanted to write about it for sUAS News but it all seems too close to the bone all of us were pretty upset. The repeater aircraft is working very well, and I will add some flesh one day. Bottom line is I don't think about much about the flying, I chuck the gear in the car and it all works. That allows me time to think more about the how of the terrain when looking at an area of interest.
Unmanned aircraft will have a part in conservation efforts. There use must be considered and coordinated.
It might be cool to find a local group that looks after birds or river systems or a something and give them a hand.
Yeah, this is totally bonkers.
So, PETA seek to promote the use of the AR Drone 2.0 to it's broad base of supporters in the hope that it will become "The New Hobby for Animal Protectionists!" to pester and harass armed civilians.
Assuming, for a moment, that all PETA supporters are suitably skilled and capable of operating the craft, and adequately informed and mindful of the risks involved... and that the airframe itself is not going to immediately become a target in such a situation... and that the deployment, operation or retrieval of an ameture UAV in such a situation will not expose it's operator to increased risk. One must still conclude that...
If..
The effective transmission range from amateur UAV operator to airframe = <50-metres
and..
The effective range from airframe to target being surveilled (either hunter or target) = <50-metres (this is being very generous)
then..
The maximum possible distance between the amateur UAV operate and the hunter (or, worse, the thing he is targeting) = <100-metres
so..
The chances of direct interactions between the ameture UAV operator and the hunter (armed gunman who is likely frustrated, irritated and annoyed) = almost certain.
Also, consider the fact that an amateur UAV operator who is flying any craft (no matter how ineffective or ill-equipped for the task it may be) in such a potentially hostile environment would no longer be considered an amateur, but rather an activist. This is a roadmap to disaster, grosely irresponsible and can only end badly for the PETA organisation and their cause, the manufacturer of the AR Drone 2.0, the "protectionist", and the amateur UAV community. Not to mention what sort of impact an incident resulting from someone acting on this would have on public opinion or future legislation concerning civilian use of UAVs.
It seems quite evident by the uniform response to this PETA initiative within the DiyDrones community that no-one with any experience with UAVs are going to be engaged by such a dangerously nearsighted concept. Perhaps someone with some clout might inform PETA of their obvious error in judgement before someone gets hurt or killed.
I dont think anyone at PETA actually checked the limited range control of a ARDrone. At less than 50m they are next to useless for their "mission".
This will certainly not help our PR, Gun lobbyists are powerful in the USA.
This will not end well for PETA other animal groups have deployed better drones than these and they where shot down. Don't get me wrong if the hunter is breaking laws book em, But what gives PETA the right to hover over the hunters this borders on vigilantism, If anyone should be flying these it should be the Police and game wardens Not Peta.
I am seriously afraid that what will happen as a result of this is that the "Drones" will get shot down literally (more fun than skeet) and figuratively when you have thoroughly annoyed the NRA one of the most powerful lobbies in the US.
Sadly, it's all going to be about media and press and the reality is that the actual impact and use will be minuscule.
It is the media circus that will blow it up into great significance and it probably isn't going to do any of us any good.
Maybe they can tag them and offer a free Fosters Farms frozen chicken for the returned Parrot cadaver.
Although personally I think most hunters will prefer to have them mounted on their wall.
Looked just like a Mallard to me!
I am pretty sure this is just a really bad idea in every way imaginable.
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