Declassified CIA documents reveal plans to create an army of remote-controlled 'animal assassins' during Cold War

The United States once tried creating an army of "animal assassins", which the CIA hoped to use against its enemies, The Daily Mail reported. Declassified documents show that the CIA ran a secret project codenamed Subproject 94 in the 1960s, in which it carried out tests on wildlife. This included implanting electrodes into the brains of rats, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, donkeys, monkeys, and birds, intending to control their movements through electrical impulses. However, their ultimate aim was to have an army of people whose actions were controlled by senior government officials.

The animal experiments were part of a larger program operated by the CIA called MKUltra. Run under the leadership of chemist Sidney Gottlieb, it tried to develop mind control techniques during the Cold War. Criminals, mental patients, and drug addicts were tortured as various experiments were carried out on them. The redacted files also show that regular people were given LSD and cocaine without their knowledge.

The revelations were made by author John Lisle in his book "Project Mind Control." The Daily Mail also got its hands on declassified archives of Subproject 94, according to which it began in December 1961.

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Animals controlled by a remote

However, the biggest part of the experiment was to create an army of remote-controlled animals that could fight the Soviet Union. The CIA wanted to send "payloads" of these animals for "direct executive actions". What the term exactly means is not clear, although some experts claim that it was a reference to assassinating enemy officials.

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The experiment wasn't meant to remain limited to the animal assassins. The scientists planned on using the technology on humans and creating a similar army of soldiers whose minds were in control of the authorities.

Gottlieb got the idea to create an army of animals from Swedish psychologist Valdemar Fellenius, who trained seals to attach bombs to submarines in World War II. He planned on having the animals plant listening devices and deliver deadly toxins. Gottlieb wanted to use to larger animals to act as animal bombs.

The scientists succeeded in their quest to control the minds of the animals by stimulating the pleasure centres of the animals' brains with positive feedback. They once had a dog walk an invisible path only through their guidance. Now they needed a safe place to have the animals do as they were told without the people noticing. Rats turned out to be the prime contenders.

The funding for the program was hidden in the Geschickter Fund for Medical Research, a private foundation set up in 1939 to support research in areas like cancer. In 1977, it was revealed that the fund was being used as a front for MKUltra's experiments for decades. The full extent of the experiment might remain hidden forever since Gottlieb destroyed several files.