How long before drone technology can be developed for use in pest control? Such as killing feral pigs? Or Florida's invasive pythons?

Outfitted with a gun, operators aiming and firing? There are big law enforcement questions on this, but in the long run the technology of drones (and bots) will prove invaluable in wildlife management. Invasive species control is a big task for land managers across the U.S.Alternative to guns, poison darts could be used.Scenario: In X number of years, a fleet of 80 drones will fly out autonomously on a 10 square mile landscape, each drone patrolling a designated 1/8 square mile of land.Each drone will survey its designated landscape for pest autonomously, flying part of the time, mostly resting in trees, recharging with its solar panels. Monitoring the entire time. The operation could go on for days, depending on drone capabilities with respect to solar panels and drone home base recharge needs.When any drone of the fleet registers a pest (visual recognition), it will notify the operator, who then takes manual control, verifies the target via cam on drone and eliminates the pest.The operator only needs to engage when a drone makes contact.I'm not an engineer--just speculating how this important technology might evolve. Does this sound about right? Is there a better way for drones to handle this mission? How many years are we from such drone capabilities? via /r/drones https://ift.tt/2wtAf26