Twenty pigs are to keep birds away from the runways at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and thus help prevent collisions with aircraft.
The idea behind the pilot project is that where pigs eat, they clear the ground completely, meaning wild geese and other birds stop looking for food there.
"Their presence is enough to keep the geese from landing here in the field," farmer Josse Haarhuis told the broadcaster Euronews in a report published on Thursday evening.
Haarhuis farms a two-hectare area on the Schiphol site, from which sugar beet was recently harvested.
"The pigs eat the crop residues. When they are gone, there is no more food for the geese and therefore no reason to come here," the farmer explained in the Euronews report.
The airport announced the use of pigs as live scarecrows on September 24, probably so that passengers would not be surprised by the sight of the snuffling swine near the runway.
For 'aviation safety'
The press release stated that the aim was to "ensure an optimum degree of aviation safety."
The pilot project complements a variety of technical measures for bird deterrence, from sound generators to lasers.
According to the airport, a special bird radar and bird observation will be used to test whether the use of pigs is really effective.
