Why authorities on the Costa Del Sol want to cull the resort’s noisy parrots

There are believed to be around 200,000 monk parakeets across the Costa del Sol - too many for local authorities who are culling the species - (Getty/iStock)

It is thought they were initially brought over as pets from Argentina - but after one, or two, escaped, the brightly-coloured green monk parakeets have become a problem for those living on the Costa del Sol.

The species of parrot was first spotted in the wild in Barcelona and Murcia in the late 1970s, before its population quickly spread across the region, including in popular holiday resorts such as Malaga and Marbella.