Hundreds of birds have died after fireworks were set off in Rome on New Year's Eve, animal rights groups have claimed, calling it a "massacre."

Video footage of the roads near the main train station in the Italian capital showed scores of birds, mostly starlings dead on the ground.

The reason was not certain, but the International Organisation for the Protection of Animals said it looked likely that firecrackers and fireworks set off in the leafy neighbourhood that many birds use to roost had been the cause

The firework display was in breach of a ban by the city of Rome, which was widely ignored. The Italian capital had also imposed a 10pm curfew as part of its virus restrictions.

Fireworks displays each year cause distress and injury to both wild and domestic animals according to reports. And the unusual concentration of bird deaths came despite a ban by the city of Rome on personal fireworks displays, which was widely ignored, and a 10 pm curfew due to virus restrictions.

Meanwhile, animal rights groups in Sri Lanka have also called for ban on using fire crackers repeatedly stating the harm for domestic pets and wild life