While the fear of being constantly watched by the ‘Big Brother’ isn’t anything new, nor are the methods taken to prevent such shady surveillance. But when one little town in the state of Colorado plans to hand out Drone Hunting licenses, one wonders whether paranoia has been taken too far.
Picture courtesy of: guyism.com
The little town of Deer Trail, Colorado owes it’s fame to being site of the World’s First Rodeo. And while this has held it in the limelight in the past, lately people passing by the unassuming little town tend to forget it even exists.
Enter Phillip Steel, a resident of the little town who drafts an ordinance to create drone hunting licenses. The proposed ordinance outlines allowable drone hunting techniques and specified arms and ammunition(a shotgun twelve gauge or smaller having a barrel length of eighteen inches or greater, pointed to the sky). The license would be available to any and all above twenty one years of age for only twenty five dollars, background check unnecessary. Anyone bringing in identifiable parts of a drone would be paid twenty five dollars, while the remains of a whole drone would be awarded a hundred dollars.
While the drafter Philip Steel has a very serious take on the ordinance, going so far as to say that he would shoot down any unmanned aerial vehicle spotted flying over the town even though it’s illegal to damage federal property, Mayor Frank Fields considers the whole thing as a novelty stunt to put Deer Trail back on the country’s radar.
Most drones are known to fly at great heights and speeds, difficult to spot always, and nigh impossible to ever shoot down. In fact Mayor Fields claims that the council doesn’t actually plan to ever pay the bounties as they themselves don’t expect any drone’s to be shot down- or even fly over the town for that matter.
Steel claims that he hasn’t ever actually seen a drone fly over the town and that the ordinance is more symbolic of the American spirit of freedom and the right to privacy- putting Big Brother in his place.
Town Clerk, Kim Oldfield considers the ordinance to be a novelty that will draw in people and generate cash for the little town. At twenty five dollars a pop, even a small number of licenses sold would generate a tidy profit for the town council.
Considering all of this: the drone hunting license, the lack of expectation of someone actually shooting a drone, and the unwillingness to pay up the bounty in case someone manages- one wonders how the situation will be handled if ever a drone is shot down, by skill or accident. Deer Trail ordinance aside, the government wouldn’t just look away when a sophisticated aerial vehicle worth a few billion dollars get’s shot down out of the sky. It would be interesting to see the little town facing those charges.
One wonders whether all this is a reaction of a society tired of being watched, or just an attempt by a small town to bring back the glory days.
Thanks to: TheDenverChannel
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