Dutch police have began a test to remove potentially dangerous drones by having them intercepted by trained eagles.
Officials came up with the idea to combat the increased use of amateur drones, which has sparked concerns they could fly into off-limit spaces around airports or above high-profile public events
Possible solutions police have looked at include shooting nets at offending drones, hacking them remotely to seize their controls or taking them out using birds of prey.
A video released by Dutch police shows a four-propeller drone hovering in the middle of a warehouse before it is clutched by a white-tailed eagle and dragged to the ground.
The birds are rewarded with a piece of meat for each successful capture.
Sjoerd Hoogendoorn of "Guard from Above", the company working with police to develop the concept, said the birds must be trained to recognise the drones.
He added: “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.
“The real problem we have is that they destroy a lot of drones. It's a major cost of testing."
Police said a decision on whether to move ahead and use the eagles will be made by the end of the year.
Dutch police spokesman Dennis Janus said: “People sometimes think it's a hoax, but it's proving very effective so far,"
“It's a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem.”
