Romans are sounding the alarm: the Italian capital is increasingly becoming a dining hall for seagulls. The seabirds have not only taken a liking to trash containers throughout the city, but they're also not afraid to steal food from people, according to the local portal Lifegate.
The inhabitants of Rome during the last For several years now, we've been encountering seagulls more and more frequently and up close. Although the Italian capital is located just 30 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, birds were unseen here until the 1970s. However, with the construction of the Malagrotta landfill nearby, the situation began to change. However, even then, the city remained merely a transit point for seabirds heading to the landfill.
In October 2013, authorities closed the landfill. Since then, Rome has been transformed into a kind of large seagull restaurant, open 24 hours a day. Today, the birds forage for food in containers and piles of garbage in virtually every corner of the city. Seagulls are active both in the historic center and on the outskirts.
According to experts, seagulls have officially moved to Rome, nesting and breeding there without fear of humans. Preliminary estimates suggest their population will reach 40,000 in a few years. Seagulls are also predators and can be aggressive. For food, they not only scavenge through garbage but also eat rats and pigeons, and even steal food from people. Local newspapers are increasingly reporting seagulls breaking windows and entering homes to snatch food they see. Last January, in St. Peter's Square, a seagull attacked a dove released by the Pope in the presence of a large crowd of worshippers.
Italian environmentalists insist that urgent preventative measures and policies are needed to reduce seabird populations. Furthermore, experts are asking the government to address the problem of street litter removal and the impact on people leaving food on the streets.
Source: news.turizm.ru