The People's Daily Online reports that scientists in China have successfully used brain implants in pigeons to control the birds' movement:

Scientists with the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center of east China's Shandong University of Science and Technology say they implanted micro electrodes in the brain of a pigeon so they can command it to fly right or left or up or down. The implants stimulated different areas of the pigeon's brain according to signals sent by the scientists via computer, and forced the bird to comply with their commands.

"It's the first such successful experiment on a pigeon in the world," said the lead researcher, who hopes the work will have "practical use" in the future.

In the United States, similar work on animals has been of interest to the military. For example, the pigeon news follows the equally amusing animal tale about the Pentagon's attempts at creating remote controlled shark spies. Like the Chinese pigeon experiment, the sharks had brain implants used to control their movements.

But don't hold your breath waiting for animal spies to roam the world anytime soon. One of the most infamous would-be animal espionage projects, dubbed Acoustic Kitty, dates back to the 1960s, when the CIA wired a furry feline to eavesdrop. On its trial run, the cat was run over by a car.

\– Sharon Weinberger

UPDATE: Noah here. Sharon, as an Iowa girl, may be able to look at this development with detached amusement. I, for one, am outraged. Those of us growing up in New York know that there is nothing nastier than the swarming, disease-ridden, flying rats who turn every public place into a fight for room to breathe. Now China is looking to engineer a fleet of cyborg pigeon slaves? Damn them. And damn those old ladies who feed the pigeons, in the first place.

ALSO:

* Military Cyborg Menagerie

* Cyborg Pigeons Revealed! (with pics!)