Animal Activists Using Drones For Aerial Surveillance
By Steve Tawa
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- Animal rights activists are using a new weapon in their war against animal abuse.
Stuart Chaifetz, a Cherry Hill-based investigator with the organization Showing Animals Respect and Kindness ("SHARK"), says his group uses drones to go where there are no roads, and beyond fences and walls.
"These remote controlled aircraft are especially helpful when you've got animal cruelty that's going on but is hidden from the public view," he tells KYW Newsradio.
One of their priorities has been video documentation of hunting club pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania.
"We're able to fly these over the trees and capture really dramatic footage of these animals being tortured and killed," Chaifetz says.
But he notes that SHARK is unable to use long-range, high definition cameras in urban areas such as Philadelphia, where dogfighting and cockfighting are known to take place in basements and garages.
"You obviously have to be able to see it from the air," he explains. And if animal cruelty is happening in a yard, lot, or alley, "Unless someone wants to give us a tip, it's just so difficult to find them."
