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Ban on throwing rice at weddings
Throwing rice at newly-weds will soon be banned in Venice as the city steps up its fight against pigeons soiling its squares and chipping away at monuments.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:27 September 18, 2007
Venice: Throwing rice at newly-weds will soon be banned in Venice as the city steps up its fight against pigeons soiling its squares and chipping away at monuments.
The mayor of the canal city is preparing a measure to stop pigeons banqueting outside the central Palazzo Cavalli, where civil weddings are celebrated, municipal police chief Marco Agostini said yesterday.
"Throwing rice at the bride and groom brings hordes of pigeons who then wait around until the next ceremony. The situation has become unbearable," Agostini told Reuters.
Only place
Another measure in the pipeline is a ban on the sale of grain to feed the pigeons in St Mark's Square, the only place in the city where it is still allowed. But the 18 licensed sellers do not want to go and animal rights activists have also expressed concern.
"The square is not a hen-house and you can't have pigeon's droppings all over the place," Agostini said. "The square is washed and cleaned up weekly but it's not enough."
Droppings are only part of the problem.
Authorities say the pigeons are chipping away at the city's marble statues and buildings by pecking at small gaps in the facades to reach for scraps of food that have been blown inside.
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