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A seagull in Venice (archive image)
Photo: Eberhard Thonfeld / IMAGO
In order to ward off "aggressive and annoying" seagulls, guests from some hotels in Venice are said to shoot at the birds with water pistols.
As the Guardian reports, the presence of seagulls in the lagoon city has become more of a problem in recent years.
For this reason, the Hotel Association of Venice convened a seminar to develop solutions to combat the seagull plague.
The seagulls are particularly annoying for guests when eating.
"As soon as the guests get up, for example to go to the buffet, the seagulls pounce on the food and take it with them," said a hotelier, according to the report in the minutes of the seminar.
“We are forced to constantly intervene to change tablecloths, plates and glasses, which they often break.
Some customers laugh about it, but others get angry.«
The seagulls are also a problem for hygiene and health, as well as for buildings and the environment, explained Francesco Boemo, a hygiene and environment expert who coordinated the seminar.
Among the solutions discussed was hiring a falconer to hunt the seagulls.
But this was probably too expensive for some hotels.
Orange water pistols
According to the Guardian, two hotels, the Gritti Palace and the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, have resorted to providing their guests with orange water pistols after learning that seagulls dislike the color.
"As soon as they see the pistols, they fly away," said Paolo Lorenzini of the Gritti Palace, according to Italian media.
"You don't even have to use them, you just have to leave them on the table."
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