Stefan Mileschin

What became as a tongue in cheek internet protest against the domestic use of drones by the US government has backfired.

In June, a resident of Deer Trail, Colorado proposed a bylaw that would offer $25 licences to hunt and shoot down government drones if they flew within 1,000 feet above private property.

According to the Denver Post, the idea actually took off and the town's clerk Kim Oldfield stopped counting the flood of requests for the licences two weeks ago when the tally of personal checks made out to the town hit 983.

If the town had been banking the licence money it would have made $19,006. Hunters from all over the state were applying for a licence and seemed keen to come to the town to try and bag them a drone.

Oldfield went on to say she returned as many of the checks as she could before the work became too silly.

"I'm still getting the letters," she said. "I'm just throwing them in a big pile."

The town's board had a chance to approve the licence ordinance last month but deadlocked 3-3.

The Federal Aviation Administration has hit out at the Deer Trail idea. In July it said anyone who fire guns at drones is endangering the public and property and could be prosecuted or fined.

It pointed out that a drone "hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air".

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