Five million chickens were culled in January 2025 alone. This is the devastating toll of the avian influenza epidemic that hit Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. The virus Highly pathogenic H5N1 does not give discountsWhen it enters a farm, there's only one solution: total extermination. But what if agricultural technology could prevent the virus from entering?
The Japanese company NTT e-Drone Technology, a subsidiary of the giant NTT, has developed a rather bold response: flocks of drones equipped with laser systems that automatically patrol farms, driving away infected wild birds, wild boars, and other disease-carrying animals. Chiba Prefecture is considering large-scale adoption, with one overriding principle in mind: if dangerous animals don't get close, the virus doesn't get in. And if the virus doesn't get in, the chickens live. I mean, they die anyway, and they die badly, but that's another story.
When biosecurity becomes a light show
The system works in an almost elegant way, if I may use this "poetic license." A quadcopter takes off from the ground, equipped with optical sensors and artificial vision algorithms: when it identifies an intruder (wild boar, deer, crow, pigeon, or wild duck), it heads toward it and activates a red and green laser beam. A bit like those cheap Christmas decorations, except here. there is nothing festiveThe animal stops, disoriented by the luminous geometry invading its eyes. And it walks away. No physical contact, no poison, no harm. Just visual deterrence.
The development team explains that the system BB102 It's based precisely on this: not destroying, but discouraging. Algorithms track the animals' trajectories, calculate the optimal intersection point, and activate the laser only when necessary. Energy savings, minimal invasiveness, zero chemical residues. Japanese agricultural technology has done what it does best: taking a complicated problem and solving it with surgical precision.
The epidemic that changed everything
Chiba Prefecture didn't choose laser drones out of technological whim. It did it because the disaster had already happenedIn the first months of 2025, fifty-three outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza devastated livestock in the region. Between January and March, 3,3 million laying hens They were closed down to contain the virus. So many? Of course: they're intensive farms, baby. Even in Italy, for example, a single farm in Verona that was affected housed eight hundred thousand animals.
As mentioned, when the virus enters, health authorities have no alternative: total shutdown, disinfection, quarantine. The economic impact is devastating. The food crisis is even more so.
Secondo data from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the VenetoSince the beginning of 2025, twenty outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in Italy. The most affected provinces are Verona and Mantua, with turkey, layer, and broiler farms affected. Phylogenetic studies suggest correlations between the outbreaks, likely due to the movement of personnel and vehicles between different sites. It's not just ducks that spread the virus: sacred ibises and cattle egrets, which are widespread in agricultural lands, also represent significant vectors.
The problem is not just about Japan. In Europe, EFSA has published urgent recommendations On biosecurity: avoid contact between wild birds and poultry, house birds indoors, and keep geese and ducks separated from other animals. All sensible measures. All difficult to implement on a large scale. Traditional systems (nets, guard dogs, chemical repellents) work up to a point. Then a hungry wild boar or a flock of crows arrives, and the defenses collapse.
Agricultural technology that doesn't kill
What makes the system interesting NTT It's not just the effectiveness, but the approach. Instead of eliminating wild animals (impossible and counterproductive), it deters them. Instead of saturating the environment with toxic chemicals, it uses light. The result is a form of agricultural technology that integrates into the ecosystem without devastating it. A wild boar repelled by a laser drone doesn't die, doesn't become intoxicated, or contaminate the food chain. It simply goes elsewhere.
The case of the blue-fleshed wild boars in California, documented last year, shows what happens when chemical repellents enter the natural cycle. Diphacinone, an anticoagulant used as an agricultural deterrent, accumulates in the tissues of animals that ingest it. Then those animals are hunted. And the substance ends up on our plates. Laser drones completely avoid this scenario.
Michael Garrett, co-author of the study on the NTT system, underlines how This research offers valuable insights It also applies to other sectors: radio spectrum protection, design of future radar systems, planetary defense, and monitoring technological impact on the space environment. The technology developed to scare away wild boars could have unexpected applications.
The problem of bridge species
An often overlooked aspect of avian influenza concerns so-called "bridge species": wild birds that are not part of the production chain but regularly approach farms. A study published in Transboundary and Emerging Disease byExperimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the Venezie highlights how these species represent the true transmission channel between infected wildlife and domestic poultry.
In Italy, especially in Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, the concentration of intensive farming coincides with the migratory routes of wild ducks and geese. The result is a constant risk of epidemics, especially in the winter months. Traditional biosecurity measures (disinfection, isolation, restricted access) are necessary but not sufficient. Systems are needed to intercept animals before they come into contact with livestock farms. This is where laser drones find their ideal application.
Scalability, costs, and future of this agricultural technology
As I was telling you, Chiba Prefecture is considering the large-scale adoption of laser drones. If the project is approved, government subsidies They will help farmers implement this agricultural technology anywhere. A single drone can cover multiple areas sequentially, operating in semi-autonomous mode. Operating costs are low: battery charging, minimal maintenance, and no chemical consumables. Compared to traditional systems, the cost savings could be significant.
But there's an even more interesting aspect: global scalability. If the system works in Japan, it can work anywhere. Dutch, German, French, and Italian farms face the same problems. Agricultural technology based on laser drones could become a European standard, gradually replacing more invasive chemical and mechanical methods. The economic return would come from reducing mass culling and ensuring production continuity.
Of course, there are limitations. Operator training, air traffic management (especially in areas with a high density of recreational drones), fleet maintenance. Nothing insurmountable, but not trivial either. The technology exists. It works. Now we need the political and economic will to implement it.
Laser drones and the precautionary principle
What strikes me about this story isn't just the technical ingenuity. It's the mental approach. Instead of waiting for the disaster to happen again, Chiba decided to invest in active prevention. Instead of resigning himself to periodic culls, he chose to test a solution that could change the rules of the game. This is exactly the kind of thinking needed when we talk about agricultural technology: not adapting to problems, but anticipating them.
Avian influenza won't disappear. Bird migration routes won't change. Factory farms will continue to exist because they're the only way to ensure large-scale food production at an affordable cost. What can change is how we manage risk. And maybe, just maybe, a drone with a ridiculous laser can make the difference between a contained outbreak and five million dead chickens.
Technology doesn't solve everything. But when it's well-designed, when it respects the ecosystem rather than violating it, when it prevents rather than reacts, it can truly improve things. Chiba's laser drones aren't the definitive solution to avian flu. But they are a step in the right direction. And in a world where livestock farms continue to be decimated every winter, every step counts.
