Dutch police train eagles to snatch enemy drones

"It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem," spokesman Dennis Janus of the 

country's national police said.

The idea arose because amateur use of drones has boomed and police have begun

 to worry about unlicensed drones flying into off-limit spaces around airports or

 above public events such as politician's appearances.

Possible solutions the Dutch police have studied include shooting nets at the 

offending drones, remotely hacking them to seize their controls - or taking them

 out with birds of prey.

"People sometimes think it's a hoax, but it's proving very effective so far," 

Janus said.

Showing off the technique in a video released by police, a four-propeller drone

 hovers in the middle of a warehouse, colored lights flashing.

Released by her keeper, a white-tailed eagle glides straight toward the drone, 

clutches it easily in her talons - clack! - and drags it to the ground.

Sjoerd Hoogendoorn of "Guard from Above", the company working with police to develop the concept, said the birds must be trained to recognize the drones as prey.

They are rewarded with a piece of meat after each successful foray.

Their scaly talons are strong and tough enough to seize most consumer-grade 

drones without injury from the blades, he said.

"These birds are used to meeting resistance from animals they hunt in the wild, 

and they don't seem to have much trouble with the drones," he said.

The potential impact on the animals' welfare is subject of testing by an external 

scientific research institute.

"The real problem we have is that they destroy a lot of drones," Hoogendoorn said.

 "It's a major cost of testing."

Another unknown is how the birds will fare in a crowd situation, he said.

A decision by police on whether to move ahead with using the eagles is expected

 by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

An eagle is seen gliding straight toward a drone before clutching it and dragging it to the ground in 

Rotterdam, Netherlands January 29, 2016, in this handout photo released by the Netherlands police to

Reuters on February 1, 2016An eagle is seen clutching a drone before dragging it to the ground in Rotterdam, Netherlands January 29, 2016, in this handout photo released by the Netherlands police to Reuters on February 1, 2016.   

An eagle is seen gliding straight toward a drone before clutching it and dragging it to the ground in Rotterdam, Netherlands January 29, 2016, in this handout photo released by the Netherlands police to Reuters on February 1, 2016.