Rome woman banned from feeding birds besieging flats

Rome's mayor has ordered a woman to stop feeding the dozens of pigeons that have overrun an apartment block, after demands from furious residents.

- Lorenzo Tondo

For several months, on the third floor of a building on Viale Spartaco, a woman, nicknamed the Pigeon Lady by the press, has been feeding the flock of birds that have laid siege to the block. After countless complaints from residents, exasperated by the thick layer of guano covering the building and the public areas below - not to mention the parked cars - local authorities issued an order banning her from feeding the pigeons.

When contacted by intercom by the local news site Roma Today, the woman said: "I'm an animal rights activist with the Italian League for Bird Protection - a major environmental organisation in Italy dedicated to wildlife conservation.