Risotto rice under threat from flamingoes in north-eastern Italy

Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara province

An unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo.

Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna.

The birds aren’t targeting the rice seedlings but use their webbed feet to stir up the soil and snatch molluscs, algae or insects from the shallow water. The rice is collateral damage.