ITALY: VENETIAN AUTHORITIES -- WORRIED BY PIGEON POLLUTION -- "TRANSPORT" THE BIRDS TO OTHER PARTS OF ITALY

Record ID: 217110

  • Title: ITALY: VENETIAN AUTHORITIES -- WORRIED BY PIGEON POLLUTION -- "TRANSPORT" THE BIRDS TO OTHER PARTS OF ITALY
  • Date: 14th January 1973
  • Summary: 1. GV Pigeons in St. Marks Square 0.06 2. GV, SV & CU Ditto flying around tourists while other tourists take photographs (6 shots) 0.30 3. GTV Pigeons in square TILT TO statue of 4 horses 0.37 4. SV PAN Murals on Basilica (2 shots) 0.51 5. SV & CU Men catching pigeons in net (2 shots) 1.07 6. GV, SV & CU Pigeons put into cages (4 s
  • Embargoed: 29th January 1973 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Venice, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVACZD4SOQ9WN1RULWQGWC48QDS7
  • Story Text: Many cities in the wold consider pigeons a monaco. Not only are their droppings unsightly, but the chemicals in them eat away stone and do irreparable damage to priceless old buildings and monuments.

    Authorities in many cities have tired all sorts of methods to get rid of them. They've tried shooting, scaring them, poison and on at least one occasion even birth control....by leaving out specially treated seed which was supposed to make the birds sterile.

    The Italian city of Venice, which has more treasures than most, is "transporting" its estimated 300-thousand pigeons to places like Sicily and Sardinia, and releasing them there to lead a normal life.

    But according to a leading Italian animal lover, Signor Bruno Ghibaudi, speculators have been selling many of Venice's captured pigeons to restaurants and stores. he also believes some may have been sold to shooting clubs for use as live targets.

    So far, about 10-thousand pigeons have been netted in Venice.

    SYNOPSIS: This is St. Marks square in Venice. It has perhaps one of the biggest populations of pigeons....and tourists....in Europe. The two are mutually attracted to each other: the pigeons need the food provided by the tourists, who in turn need photographs of the birds for their slide collections. But now, the civic authorities have decided the pigeons have to go.

    The reason is that the pigeons' droppings are not only unsightly... the chemicals in them are damaging the stone of irreplaceable monuments and buildings....literally eating them away. a great deal of money has been spent in cleaning and restoration.

    Venice has now authorised an operation to capture as many as possible of the city's three-hundred-thousand pigeons and transport them to distant places such as Sicily and Sardinia.

    So far, ten thousand birds have been captured and, according to the authorities, have been sent to lead new lives in other places. But a leading Italian animal and bird lover says unscrupulous speculators have sold many birds to restaurants and shops, and that they've ended up as ??? on Italian tables.

    And he claims some of the birds may have been sold to shooting clubs which want to use them as live targets.
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