Dec 02, 2013
FOX 29 - Philadelphia, PA
By Chris O'Connell

BEVERLY, N.J.

You may not see them or hear them. But they may be watching your every move.

They're called drones or unmanned aerial vehicles. Technology once used exclusively by the military is now being used by everyday citizens.

FOX 29's Chris O'Connell explains how what some are calling a hobby others call an invasion of your privacy.

A van pulls in before sunrise to the chilly banks of the Delaware River. But animal-rights activists aren't here for fun. They're here to spy. And this is their weapon: an unmanned, radio-controlled aircraft – a drone.

"We're out here and filming what's going to be a pigeon shoot. They use live animals for live targets, and we video-document it," said Mike Koblisk of the group SHARK.

Every other Saturday, the Chicago-based "Showing Animals Respect and Kindness" travels to Beverly, N.J., to document what they call illegal live pigeon shoots across the river at the Philadelphia Gun Club in Bensalem. That's the club behind the large privacy tarp.

"We capture a lot of things. We capture cruelty to animals, we capture them abandon animals, and just a lot of wontless slaughter," Koblisk said.

This group videotapes the shoots from above. They use a ground station to monitor and record video from up to a mile away, hovering so high you can barely know it's up there.

At one point, using an octocopter – octo because it has eight propellers – you can see O'Connell on the video from about 300 feet in the air.