History Highlights #2: "Operation Acoustic Kitty"

The following is a very rough excerpt from the first iteration of my book draft. Since none of this material will appear in my current draft, I've decided to make it available here. 

The Central Intelligence Agency's desire to develop remote-controlled covert eavesdropping critters continues... (read part one here).

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It appears that as early as 1966, certain aspects of  MKULTRA's animal espionage program were restructured. Similar to the doctrine of Subproject 94, the CIA sought to determine “the feasibility and practicality of the animal control, signaling, guidance, and location system”. According to Victor Marchetti, former special assistant to the Deputy Director of the CIA, "[t]he idea behind "Operation Acoustic Kitty" was to develop an audio device that could function despite extraneous noises.” Technical feasibility was demonstrated that year and operational feasibility was conducted in July of 1967. From September through December of 1967, the CIA analyzed the program goals and requirements. After concluding their initial analysis, the project received full funding that December.

      The program’s initial objective was to get an animal to a remote point and back again. Cats and dogs were chosen for study since they are common in most parts of the world. Researchers cautioned, however, needs might dictate that "smaller or larger animals be investigated for other kinds of missions". Two areas determined to be in need of critical investigation were the development of guidance methods, as well as maximum range capability. Utilization of a radio frequency link was mandatory in the development of a guidance system. One proposal was the development of continuous and intermittent information inputs systems. By late 1967 a number of cats were undergoing training. No evidence exists supporting the implementation of canine studies, although it was again proposed that dogs could also be used in the same manner and may be easier to train.

      A CIA report from July 1968 thoroughly outlines the cat training techniques, largely based on systems proposed by famed behaviorist B. F. Skinner. The Agency was interested in biological factors such as attention span, physical endurance, total range, and effect on different reinforcement schedules. The training protocol involved systematically increasing the complexity and skill level of the animal response under the conditions of an expanding and frequently changing environment. They conditioned the animals to search for targets and respond to the targets once they found them. Auditory cues were supplied to the animals to aid them in their search for targets. The auditory cues were a continuous signal when the animal was heading towards the proper target, a signal meaning turn to the left and a signal meaning turn right. These signals were used in different combination depending on the particular approach in training.

       Although many details of  "Operation Acoustic Kitty" remain classified to this day, Marchetti provided this insight in 1986: “They slit the cat open, put batteries in him, [and] wired him up. The tail was used as an antenna. They made a monstrosity. They tested him and tested him. They found he would walk off the job when he got hungry, so they put another wire in to override that. Finally, they’re ready. They took it out to a park bench and said “Listen to those two guys. Don’t listen to anything else – not the birds, no cat or dog – just those two guys!”... They put him out of the van, and a taxi comes and runs him over. There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead!”  Marchetti also went on to state: “It was twenty five million dollars down the drain. Twenty five million dollars was a lot of money then.”  Dr. Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow at the National Security Archive, said of the project, "I'm not sure for how long after the operation the cat would have survived even if it hadn't been run over."

      Declared a complete failure, the Acoustic Kitty program was abruptly cancelled. An internal CIA memo acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the individuals involved:

"Our final examination of trained cats convinced us that the program would not lend itself in a practical sense to our highly specialized needs. The work on this problem over the years reflects great credit on the personnel that guided it, whose energy and imagination could be models for scientific pioneers."

      However, some in the CIA believed the experiments should continue. On March 13, 1969, a memo titled "Animal Studies Projects" requested further funding for the following fiscal year:

"I understand that there are no funds programmed for R & D support of the trained animal program for FY 1970. I think a modest level of forward looking R & D activity designed to improve the guidance systems and operational versatility of various animals should be maintained. I, therefore, recommend that you approve such research effort[s] for FY 1970."

      It remains unclear whether or not the funding was appropriated, but more recent reports indicate a possibility the Acoustic Kitty project lives on to this day in some capacity. In a July 2007 editorial for the Iranian newspaper Resalat, Saleh Eskandari wrote:

"A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the country's borders. These trained squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes. According to the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials, alert police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry out any task.

Fixing GPS devices, bugging instruments and advanced cameras in the bodies of trained animals like squirrels, mice, hamsters, etc, are among modern methods of collecting intelligence. Given the fast speed and the special physical features of these animals, they provide special capabilities for spying operations. Once the animals return to their place of origin, the intelligence gathered by them is then offloaded…"

The CIA has never publicly confirmed or denied the  Iranian allegations. 

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Next week: Russia's Anti-Tank Dogs