Ravenous Birds
Fight against seagull plague: Hotels in Venice equip guests with water pistols
A seagull in Venice – it still looks very peaceful
© Ewald Fr / Picture Alliance
Venice just can’t find a way to defend itself against aggressive seagulls. The latest attempt: orange water pistols are designed to scare off the cheeky birds.
Seagulls are an integral part of waterfront cities. In Venice, however, the birds have become a real nuisance. They unashamedly harass locals and tourists alike, and are particularly fond of pouncing on food – regardless of who paid for it.
All efforts to get rid of the birds have so far failed. According to the “Guardian”, two hotels in the lagoon city are now using an unusual method: They equip their guests with water pistols in the fight against the seagulls. In the Gritti Palace and Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, tourists are given orange toy guns – the cheeky birds don’t like that color.
Venice: seagulls steal croissants or even steaks
“As soon as they see the pistols, they fly away,” Paolo Lorenzini from the five-star Gritti Palace hotel told the Italian media. “You don’t even have to use them, you just have to leave them on the table.” The Monaco & Grand Canal decided to take the step after some guests had unpleasant experiences with the birds: a seagull had snatched a croissant from a tourist’s hand, sometimes the animals would even steal whole steaks from the plate and fly away with them, reported the hotel manager Enrico Mazzocco the “Times“.
Around 1,000 seagulls live in Venice – and the city has not yet found any effective means of getting rid of the plague. According to the Guardian, the local hotel association even called its own seminar to discuss the problem and look for solutions. The animals are not only “aggressive and annoying” towards tourists, but also a problem for hygiene and health as well as for the buildings and the environment, said hygiene and environment expert Francesco Boemo, the seminar coordinator.
In Venice, it is now hoped that the water pistols will actually prove to be a miracle weapon against the birds – even if this is likely to cause some curious pictures in the luxury hotels.
Swell: “The Guardians” / “The Times”
Watch the video: Venice usually has to struggle with too much water instead of too little. During the Corona lockdown, the water in the canals was surprisingly clear. By the end of last week it was almost gone.