View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. World
19 September 2013

The eagle interned as a Mossad agent, and other animal spies

Inside the bizarre world of animal espionage.

By Sophie McBain

Earlier this month a stork was arrested in Egypt on suspicion of spying. The apparent spy devices were in fact monitoring equipment geologists had attached to the bird to track its migration path, but sadly the suspected spy never received a fair trial. Instead it was killed and eaten by villagers, which no doubt sent out a powerful message to other feathered agents.

It isn’t the only bird to have fallen fowl (sorry) of the law. One eagle was arrested in Sudan last year, and a vulture was detained in Saudi Arabia in 2011, both on suspicion of being Israeli spies. As with the stork, they had been electronically tagged by scientists. In India, a pigeon was arrested for spying for Pakistan in 2010. The pigeon fared much better than the spy stork, as it was reportedly given its own air-conditioned cell.

In 2010 Egypt blamed a series of shark attacks on the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, claiming it had deliberately introduced man-eating sharks to damage Egypt’s tourist industry.

While sharks are in cahoots with Israelis, squirrels are the preferred weapon of choice for the British intelligence services – or so the Iranians believed when they arrested 14 spy squirrels.

Animals can be criminal masterminds, too. In Nigeria in 2009, a goat was arrested for armed robbery. Police detained the goat after it was claimed the creature was in fact an armed robber, who had used black magic to transform himself into an animal after stealing a Mazda.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

This all sounds very silly, but MI5 did consider using gerbils to identify spies and terrorists at airports in the 1970s, while the US is looking at inserting spy equipment into insects to create insect cyborgs and training bees to detect explosives. In the 1960s the CIA tried (and failed) to bug cats as part of Operation Acoustic Kitty.

But it is sea creatures you really have to be suspicious of. Dolphins and sea-lions have been trained by the US to locate and mark landmines, as well as suspicious swimmers.

Content from our partners
The promise of prevention
How Labour hopes to make the UK a leader in green energy
Is now the time to rethink health and care for older people? With Age UK

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU