KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Hoteliers in Venice, Italy are arming tourists with water pistols to fend off violent seagulls.

The protected species, which gather at popular tourist hotspot of St Mark’s Square and across the city’s many ornate balconies, have been giving hoteliers a headache for years, Euro News reported.

Monaco and Grand Canal hotel manager Enrico Mazzocoo said a gull flew off with an entire steak, just as the waiter lifted the lid off the plate he was serving it on.

The predatory birds have been known to snatch ice creams, croissants and sandwiches out of tourists’ hands as well as smashing glasses and plates.

After years of trying to deter the birds to no avail, the Venice Hoteliers’ Association (AVA) decided to pass guests sitting outside the Monaco and Grand or the Gritti Hotel an orange coloured water pistol each.

Orange coloured guns are favoured as bird experts have told the association that the bright colour is particularly repugnant to gulls and more likely to deter them.

Gritti Hotel director Paolo Lorenzini reportedly said that guests need not use them but just keep them on the table.

Over the years, the association has employed falcons, a fake owl and is even considering acoustic deterrents and nasty smells to combat the birds.

Some of the hotels have previously worked with falconers, but calling them every day proved too costly to sustain.