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Venice's pesky pigeon hordes

Tourists love them, but officials want clean-up

VENICE: Just a handful of corn, and the pigeons of St. Mark's Square swoop. Nothing says "I've been to Venice" better than a photo snapped with pigeons perched on arms, shoulders, head, breast. Multiply that by, perhaps, a million times a year.

The constant feeding has created a pigeon problem in the lagoon city, and feathers are flying. The pigeons are dirty. They carry disease. They are ruining the city's glorious facades and spreading filth in the piazzas. And the Mayor wants action.

Venice already rounds up pigeons regularly and kills the sick ones, but that does not seem to stem their numbers. Other attempts have included introducing contraceptives to their food supply and birds that eat their eggs. — AP

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