HuskyPup - 9:27 pm on Feb 19, 2013 (gmt 0)

I am certain that googlebot considers this as cloacking and images are dropped from search results...

I don't believe so, I've had hotlink protection for maybe 3+ years now and have never suffered from this and since using my 403 Fordbidden plus re-direct and getting it correct, this week I'm actually seeing an increase in image views.

What the Panduin twins bring in their next update is another matter altogether.