Police received dozens of calls about two rheas wandering among tourists

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Two emu-like birds have provoked the ire of Venetian authorities after they brazenly roamed around the lagoon city’s narrow streets.

The rheas, which are native to South America, arrived in the city by train on Thursday with their Slovenian owners from nearby San Donà del Piave, where a circus is in town.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The birds, Nina and Nande, are not dangerous, according to their owners. Photograph: Reuters

Police received dozens of calls reporting sightings of the animals wandering among tourists along the streets of the Canareggio area. The rheas, also known as nandu, were initially mistaken for emus.

Officers eventually tracked them down close to the train station and the owners were each fined €400 and barred from entering Venice for two days. They were put on a train back to San Donà del Piave.

A video of the birds’ trip to the city was shared on the social media accounts of Venice Is Not Disneyland, set up by Venetians who say they are tired of their city’s deterioration.

Speaking to La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre newspaper, one owner of the birds, Janez Cetin, said: “We apologise to everyone for the inconvenience.”

Of the birds, called Nina and Nande, he added: “They are not dangerous animals, we breed them to play with children.”

On Friday afternoon Cetin shared a photo of the birds taken during their outing to Venice on Facebook alongside the comment: “My nandus, in love, in Venice, the city of love and carnival masks.”

In a previous post he wrote: “We stirred the water in Venice.”

Venetian authorities have become increasingly tough on anyone perceived to be delinquent tourists. Last June, two Germans were fined €1,000 and asked to leave the city after being caught preparing coffee with a camping stove on Rialto Bridge.

• This article was amended on 6 January 2020. An earlier version incorrectly compared the birds with “Australian ostriches”, rather than emus, in the text and headline and misspelled the name of Janez Cetin.