clipped from: www.theage.com.au   
Venice's pigeon-feed sellers, who say they have been plying their trade for a century, protest against the ban this week. PICTURE: AP
Venice's pigeon-feed sellers, who say they have been plying their trade for a century, protest against the ban

VENICE has finally run out of patience with tourists feeding pigeons in St Mark's Square.

The sale and distribution of grain to feed the birds is now banned, ending a tradition that attracted pigeons, and their droppings, to one of the most picturesque parts of the lagoon city.

Fines for ignoring the ban start at 50 euros ($A85), and the vendors who sold grain are now out of a job.

Nineteen traders, who say feed-sellers have been working in St Mark's Square for a century, protested with placards on their booths aimed at Mayor Massimo Cacciari, including: "Curse the day I voted for you", and "Cacciari, what kind of Venetian are you?"

The fight against the birds is part of a campaign to improve decorum and cleanliness in the UNESCO World Heritage Site