Serbians see red over giant penis owl statue

There's outrage in a small Serbian town as protesters claim a statue of an owl looks more like a phallus.

Every winter, thousands of bird-lovers go to Kikinda to see one of the world's largest roosting populations of long-eared owls.

Officials want to brand Kikinda 'the city of owls' - but comments on social media say they've put the city on the map for all the wrong reasons.

The 2.4-metre statue was made to celebrate the town's importance to bird-watching. But shortly after it was raised, some one-eyed locals are labelling the terracotta statue's elongated shape and minimal features "obscene".

A post on the town's Facebook page celebrating the statue's erection drew a large number of sarcastic opinions.

"This is great," wrote one. "I just can't figure out what it reminds me of".

Others spoke of the "shame" the statue has brought on Kikinda.

"I love owls and I love the city but this sculpture is pure failure," one person commented.

"Now everyone will make fun of us," another said.

The statue's creator, Jovan Blat, has blamed the public for not understanding the meaning behind his "stylised sculpture" with its "elongated, tubular body".

"It is clear... that everyone does not understand contemporary art," he told Serbian newspaper Vecernje Novosti, admitting he may have "some technical limitations".

Newshub.