Tourists in Venice are being supplied with water pistols at some luxury hotels to ward off aggressive seagulls.
The city’s 1,000-strong population of birds has become increasingly bold in swooping down to steal food out of unsuspecting visitors’ hands as they dine on hotel terraces.
On one occasion, “a gull flew off with an entire steak, just as the waiter lifted the lid off the plate he was serving it on,” Enrico Mazzocco, manager of the Monaco & Grand Canal hotel, told The Times.
The four-star pad in the centre of Venice finally decided to take action after a gull snatched a croissant out of a guest’s hand as he was lifting it to his mouth.
Water guns are now placed on diners’ tables, with guests encouraged to take aim to keep the persistent birds away.
Snacks are also served under serviettes; patrons are advised to reach underneath to retrieve them rather than uncover the dish.
The Gritti Palace hotel on the Grand Canal has introduced a similar measure, handing out orange water pistols to discourage hungry fowl.
They dislike the colour, according to manager Paolo Lorenzoni – just seeing the pistols is enough to keep the birds away for the most part.
“You don’t even need to use them, you just need to keep them on the table,” he said.
Previously, attacks by up to 15 gulls were not uncommon, causing serious disruption.
More aggressive strategies have also been mooted to protect tourists in La Serenissima.
Claudio Scarpa, president of the Venice hoteliers’ association, argued that birds of prey could be the answer.
“We could introduce a falcon-sharing system between hotels with one falconer sending a falcon to cover different terraces,” he said.
Gulls have overtaken pigeons as the primary avian blight on the city in recent years.
Back in 2013, the UK’s Foreign Office even issued a warning to Brits visiting Venice, saying: “Feeding pigeons is against the law”.
