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Animal rights activists staged a dawn raid on St Mark's Square to defy Venice's new ban on feeding pigeons.

The five militants rowed to the famed square from the lagoon and scattered bird seed in defiance of a city ordnance aimed at reducing the damage caused by the birds.

The protesters also draped the Bridge of Sighs with a banner saying ''Venice Without Pigeons Is Like (Mayor Massimo) Cacciari Without His Beard''.

The five were fined by the police who guard the piazza.

It was the second such incursion since the start of the month by the group, which calls itself '100% Animalist''.