Spanish city to banish 5,000 pigeons for ‘driving away’ tourists

AN Andalucian city has pledged to banish 5,000 pigeons amid complaints from restaurant and hotel owners that they are driving away tourists.

Cadiz is set to remove thousands of its feathered foes after Horeca, a federation of hoteliers in the city, claimed that tourist hotspot Plaza de la Catedral was overrun with the birds.

The group slammed the issue as ‘intolerable’ having lost 20% of their business due to the pigeons, which steal food from customers and leave ‘excrement’ everywhere.

Horeca, which first brought up the issue two years ago, said the pigeons could lead to health problems, with waiters constantly cleaning up faeces near customers when they are eating.

Cadiz council decided that the city’s pigeon population of 8,000 was three to four times too many to sustain.

Some 5,000 birds will be rounded up and relocated to Riba-Roja de Turia within the next year.