Venetian lawmakers made it strictly illegal to feed the pigeons in St Mark's Square, imposing hefty fines on any tourist caught tossing breadcrumbs to the aggressive flocks of birds.

A closer look

Venetian lawmakers made it strictly illegal to feed the pigeons in St Mark's Square, imposing hefty fines on any tourist caught tossing breadcrumbs to the aggressive flocks of birds. The acidic droppings from tens of thousands of overfed pigeons were rapidly eroding the delicate marble statues and historic facades of the sinking city. Naturally, this deeply disappoints visitors who wanted that classic, majestic photo of birds fluttering around them, but it absolutely saves you from the terrifying reality of being swarmed by hundreds of disease-carrying sky-rats that have zero respect for personal boundaries or your overpriced designer sunglasses