PETA intends to monitor American hunters with drones. Be careful what you wish for.
PETA has announced plans to film U.S. hunters with drones, declaring it "will soon have some impressive new weapons at its disposal to combat those who gun down deer and doves." PETA President Ingrid Newkirk, in full rut, said: "Slob hunters may need to rethink the idea that they can get away with murder, alone out there in the woods with no one watching."
Apparently close to buying a CineStar Octocopter, which can fly for approximately 20 minutes with a small camera, PETA plans on sending the drone "over factory farms, popular fishing spots, and other venues where animals routinely suffer and die."
Bet on it, American hunters will be waiting on incoming PETA drones and there won't be many return flights.
The scene isn't that difficult to picture. A fine September day; a painted sky; and the opening day of dove season. A small 20-acre dove field has been prepared — planted back in May with soybeans and sunflowers — and parallel lanes have been cut up and down the acreage. About 30 "slob" hunters line the perimeter of the field and the shooting has been great all morning — a constant rain of falling shot and birds. But even the best dove day has gaps, and during a lull, the field goes quiet — except for chatter and insults thrown back and forth across the lanes. And then, enter stage left, the CineStar Octocopter. It slips over the field, hovers gracefully, and films the "murder" and carnage.
Within seconds, one of the "slobs" spots the Octocopter, points up in the air and sounds the alarm, "There's that %^*&*#@ PETA drone." The rest of the story is academic, but suffice to say, more shotgun shells are unloaded on the drone than have been fired over the field all morning. The drone, maiden voyage or not, doesn't make a return flight to Ingrid Newkirk's base. And if a 12 gauge doesn't reach high enough, a deer rifle will.
There simply aren't many U.S. hunters that will abide PETA's drone intrusion — shotgun, rifle, stick or rock. Simple advice to PETA: If you are really going down the drone route, then buy a fleet of 'em — you will need plenty of backups.
