Are gulls ruining the pleasure of outdoors eating?
May I please, through your letters page, plead with the people of Campbeltown to stop feeding the gulls around the harbour. There seems to be so many now and they are so bold.
I have grown up by the sea and do not normally feel too intimidated by them, but on a couple of occasions recently they have made me feel quite scared and very annoyed.
One evening last week I had a fish supper in my car for my dinner and was forced to put my windows up fully, on a very warm evening, because the gulls were trying to get in my window.
They also flew on the bonnet and roof of my car and would not move, even when I sounded my horn or flapped my arms at them. There must have been at least 20 to 30 birds on or round my car the whole time I was eating.
By the end I wished I had just gone elsewhere to eat but it made me think how visitors to the area would feel if they weren’t used to them or didn’t have a car to ‘hide’ in.
Surely one of the most iconic things to do in a small fishing town is to have a fish supper at the sea front? Something which is being totally ruined by these cheeky gulls.
I have read reports in newspapers recently of people being attacked and hurt by gulls in other towns and I hope we are not next.
I often see a Campbeltown resident in Main Street feeding gulls and ravens from his flat window and I cannot understand why he thinks that is a good habit to form. I have witnessed people too scared to walk on the street under his window for fear of the birds.
I have also on a few occasions witnessed a Campbeltown businessman throwing food scraps to the birds at the end of the day.
I really don’t think our local gulls need any encouragement and I hope they are not ruining the enjoyment of outdoor eating for the people of Campbeltown and the tourists who visit. Name and address supplied.