Council drafts anti-feeding byelaw

Hindu leader hits out at decision to fine those who feed birds as it’s against ‘religious freedom’

TOUGH new measures to crack down on people who feed seagulls are to be introduced.

Conwy Council says it will bring in a law by the end of the year to ban the feeding of the birds on Llandudno’s North Shore.

Our sister paper the Daily Post has highlighted over recent weeks how people were coming under attack from gulls swooping to steal their food.

Up to now the council has not sought powers to stop people encouraging gulls, with a senior official suggesting it was because of fears of upsetting people whose religion encourages them to feed birds.

But last week, council chiefs told the Daily Post, officers are now working to draft a byelaw which will mean they can punish those who give the birds food.

Seagulls have become increasingly emboldened because of people feeding them, and they are so used to human contact they are no longer fazed by people.

Coupled with the fact that they are particularly aggressive at present because it is their hatching season, the problem has got so out of hand that postmen were refusing to deliver mail in Belgrano near Abergele.

A Conwy council spokesman denied the claim made in a tweet by a senior official that religious sensitivities were a reason not to pursue action against feeders, but confirmed that as of now it is looking at introducing measures.

He said: “The nuisance that can be caused by seagulls is well-known in this area.

“The Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Act 2012 came into effect on 31 March and allows authorities a quicker process for introducing byelaws.

“Officers are in the process of drafting a byelaw to prohibit the feeding of seagulls on North Shore, Llandudno – this should be finalised later this year.”

CONWY council has found itself embroiled in an unlikely row with one of the world’s most prominent Hindu faith leaders over its plans to fine people who feed seagulls.

Rajan Zed, a leading Hindu statesman from Nevada, USA, said he was disappointed that the council had decided to punish people who feed birds – which in his religion play an important role – with many deities taking the form of birds.

Mr Zed – who is so well known in America he is listed in Who’s Who? – suggested Conwy council was at odds with the right to religious freedom.

He said: “Is the universal principle of religious freedom not applicable in the Conwy county?

He urged the council to “show some maturity and respect to some communities who think feeding birds is an act of kindness and a religious duty, and not draft the proposed law punishing those who fed the birds”.

The unexpected intervention of a religious leader from the United States into a row over seagull problems in a Welsh coastal shire came after the Daily Post highlighted how aggressive gulls had become such a problem that postmen have even refused to deliver in some areas because of swooping gulls attacking them.

Initially Mr Zed spoke in support of Conwy council, having read the Daily Post’s story that stated the authority did not take past opportunities to ban people from feeding seagulls because of concerns over religious sensitivities.

Mr Zed had praised Conwy for its apparent respect for the Hindu religion, and urged other councils to follow its lead by protecting the rights of people to feed birds.

But the council, in a hasty u-turn and apparently going back on the claim made by its head of leisure services that religion had been a factor in the decision not to punish people for feeding birds, then declared it would bring in sanctions along Llandudno’s North Shore.

Mr Zed said “introducing ban on feeding birds would be blatantly disregarding the sentiments of some communities”.

According to the last census, there are around 250 Hindus living in the county of Conwy.

A spokesman for Conwy council has been asked for comment.