Animals accused of espionage

Animals accused of espionage

Spying, infiltrating, squawking

Some people just don't trust animals. Admittedly their emotionally blank faces and unclear motivations can be unsettling. But while most of us just take this as a given, others insist there's something far more sinister going on.

Cue those confused folk who have accused animals of being mini-Bonds...

(Images: Rex Features)

1. A Vulture

A vulture found in the Saudi city of Ha’il with a GPS tag stamped ‘Tel Aviv University’ was arrested for spying this month. Quite why Israel would spy on carrion-to-be remains a mystery.

2. A Pelican

One feathered spy... coincidence. Two? Highly suspicious — so take into account another tagged Israeli bird also collared in Sudan this month and things smell a bit fishy. Especially as it was a pelican.

3. Dolphins

When Hurricane Katrina hit the US navy’s dolphin training centre in 2005, dolphins, thought to be carrying toxic darts and trained to attack terrorists, were washed into the Gulf of Mexico.

4. Cats

Acoustic Kitty was a Sixties CIA project that implanted listening devices into cats and used their tails as antennae. The first mission, in Washington, DC, ended swiftly when the feline was run over by a taxi.

5. Squirrels

Secret Squirrel is, it turns out, a Western spy ploy. Well, that’s what the Iranians thought in 2007 when they rounded up 14 squirrels allegedly equipped with listening devices.

6. A Pigeon

Stop The Pigeon is no longer just an innocent cartoon theme song; it’s a mission for the Indian government. Last May it detained a pigeon found to have a Pakistani address printed on its body.

7. Insects

Look up Hybrid Insects (HI-MEMS) and you’ll see that the US is implanting micro-mechanical systems in insects and creating ultra-stealthy cyborgs — with picnic-destroying capabilities.

8. A Monkey

Before ’Allo ’Allo!, many Brits had never seen a Frenchman. Hence why Hartlepool fishermen, after recovering a monkey from a sinking Napoleonic ship in the early 1800s, hanged it as a French infiltrator.

Tags: animals

Animals Accused Of Espionage - ShortLists - ShortList Magazine