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September 8, 2008 6:15:51 AM CDT

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Venice Squawking Over Pigeons

Posted Feb 13, 08 12:58 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – Venice's pigeons are nearly as famous as its gondolas, but the days of tourists feeding pigeon in St. Mark's Square could be numbered, reports Der Speigel. Venice has one of the highest pigeon-to-person ratios of any city in the world, and fed-up city politicians want to remove the square's exemption from a 1997 law banning feeding the birds.

Proximity to pigeons can cause health problems, especially for children and the elderly, and Venetian officials say that pigeon droppings are eroding the historic stone of the square itself. But 18 vendors make a living selling birdseed in the square and they're not happy about the threat to their livelihoods. "It's absurd to take away our jobs like this. We have to live," squawked one.

Source Der Spiegel

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ITALY. Venice. 2002. Child feeding pigeons in St. Mark's Square. (NYC30221)   (Magnum Photos)
Pigeons can get away with almost anything in Venice," wrote Jan Morris in 1960. "Sometimes you will see one, all puffed up with pride, swaggering into the narthex of the Basilica di San Marco itself.   (Magnum Photos)
Pigeons outnumber people by at least two to one in Venice and city officials aim to reduce the number by cutting off their food source.   (Magnum Photos)
Eighteen vendors making a living selling birdseed to tourists in St Mark's Square but city officials, citing the allergies and illnesses the birds can cause among children and the elderly, want to put...   (Getty Images)
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