A seagull looking for food, a crowded market and a scene that left those present in shock. It happened at the Trionfale market in Rome, in the Prati district, where a trader was reported after repeatedly hitting the animal with a stick in front of customers. The episode, which occurred inside the facility in via Andrea Doria, quickly sparked outrage on social media and reopened the debate on the topic of animal abuse.
According to what some witnesses said, the bird entered the food area of the market by approaching the stalls. When he arrived near a butcher’s shop, the owner of the business reacted violently, leaving the counter and starting to hit the seagull under the eyes of the people present.
The rescue of the seagull and the urgent rush to Lipu
Among those who witnessed the scene was a customer who decided to intervene immediately. The woman would have recovered the injured seagull and transported it urgently to the recovery center of Lipu – Italian Bird Protection League, which deals with the care of wildlife in difficulty.
The animal was taken care of by the association’s volunteers, while the client, after saving it, went to the police to file a complaint. In Italy, the mistreatment of animals is in fact a criminal offense and can also lead to imprisonment of up to 18 months, in addition to the financial sanctions provided for by law.
The protest by animal rights activists and the request for the revocation of the license
Animal rights activist Enrico Rizzi also intervened in the case and on social media defined the episode as “very serious”, announcing his intention to contact the Municipality of Rome and the Animal Guarantor to verify possible measures against the trader involved. Among the hypotheses put forward there is also that of the possible revocation of the concession of the stall within the Trionfale market.
The episode brought attention to the increasingly complicated relationship between urban wildlife and city activities. Seagulls, now a constant presence in large Italian cities, are often attracted to food areas and waste. But what happened in Rome went beyond the simple problem of urban coexistence, turning into a brutal attack against a poor defenseless and simply hungry animal and cannot go unpunished.
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