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Seagulls take over Italian capital and spotlight, yet again

Seagulls have taken over the Italian capital city of Rome. The birds feed on discarded food and overflowing trash in the streets and wreak havoc on locals and tourists alike, according to a recent New York Times article. The number of birds has grown in recent years to an estimated population into the tens of thousands, in part because the city has yet to successfully decrease the population.

The seagulls have become so much of a nuisance that city officials are reportedly looking into introducing seagull-proof trash bins in the city center, according to the English language magazine for expats, Wanted in Rome. Rome’s councilor for the environment, Pinuccia Montanari, responded to The New York Times article by saying that the city is already in the works of creating a new model of waste bins that will prevent seagulls from eating trash.   

This is not the first time the bird epidemic has made global headlines. Rome has a history of waste disposal issues and a history of city officials promising to fix them. For example, in 2012 the city considered  introducing falcons into the skies above the Roman Colosseum “in a bid to scare away birds that are pecking away at the 2,000-year-old stone facade.”

Then, in early 2014, the Pope released two doves as a gesture to pray for peace during the crisis in Ukraine. As people all over the world watched the televised event, the doves were immediately attacked by a seagull and a crow.

PHOTO: The white and grey bird that has made recent headlines stands over a view of Rome. Source: User emocje/ Pixabay

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