Amazon may want to exercise caution before sending one of its drones into one Colorado town, as there is a chance it may never return.
Phillip Steel, the Deer Trail, Colo., man who drafted the town’s drone-hunting ordinance, vowed to shoot down any unmanned aerial vehicle flying over his house. And that includes drones operated by Amazon, National Journal reported.
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“I would shoot it down, ordinance or no, I would shoot it down,” Steel told National Journal. “…I will shoot it down and go to jail with a smile over my face.”
Amazon announced its “Prime Air” drone delivery system during CBS‘s “60 Minutes” on Sunday. Though still years from implementation, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the company plans to use UAVs to deliver packages under 5 pounds. But delivering to Deer Trail may not be the best idea.
The town plans to vote on a drone hunting ordinance in the coming weeks. If passed, the law would allow citizens to purchase a drone-hunting license for just $25. Residents would then have free reign to shoot down drones seen flying in the town. For residents who manage to shoot one out of the sky, the town plans to offer bounties of up to $100 for pieces of the downed machines.
Steel first proposed the ordinance in July, and the measure was first put to a vote the following month. However, the drone-hunting ordinance was stalled after it received a tie vote from the Deer Trail Board of Trustees.
The proposed measure seeks to “defend the sovereign airspace of the Town of Deer Trail, Colorado,” it states, “and that of its citizens, their homes, businesses, related properties and interested, from unwanted incursions by small unmanned aerial vehicles (popularly referred to as drones).”
It goes on to note that technological developments have led to the covert gathering of information and use of the data collected.
“Do I think 1984 is going to happen?” Steel said. “Not in the same sense as George Orwell did—but I think its going to be a lot trickier than that, a lot more subtle.”
