PETA Launches Drones to Help Protect Hunted Wildlife
Newest Hobby Is ‘Hunter Watching,’ the Chance to Monitor Illegal or Cruel Activities
For Immediate Release:
October 22, 2013
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Boston — Bowhunting season in Massachusetts is now open—but hunters who are hitting the woods had better keep an eye on the skies. That’s because PETA, which just debuted a new hobby drone that can monitor hunters’ activities, could be watching. The group marked the launch of its Air Angels hobby drones with a live demonstration yesterday just outside Boston and expects that people will soon see the devices flying all over the country. The drones—which allow kind “hunter watchers” to capture and share video footage of illegal or cruel hunting practices, such as failing to follow an injured deer, laying bait to lure geese, or leaving bear cubs orphaned—are available for purchase from PETA’s online catalog here. Led by PETA’s sexy “Air Angels,” the group gave visitors a firsthand look at live real-time footage of the drones’ activity from inside its mobile center. Photographs from the event are available on PETA’s Blog.
“PETA’s drones will help protect wildlife by letting hunters know that someone may be watching—and recording—them, so they should think twice before illegally killing or maiming any living being,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “Wildlife watchers outnumber wildlife killers five to one—and if even a fraction of these kind people use hobby drones, they’ll make a huge difference by exposing hunters’ dirty secrets.”
PETA aims to collect video footage of any illegal activity, including drinking while in the possession of a firearm; using spotlights, feed lures, and other forbidden hunting tricks; and maiming animals and failing to pursue them. Research shows that 60 percent of animals who are shot flee into the woods to die slowly and in pain and that for every animal killed by a bowhunter, another is maimed, never to be found again. Wounded animals can suffer for days or even weeks before dying. In addition, when an animal is shot, offspring are often left behind to starve to death or be eaten by predators.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
