The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Vicious gulls must be culled insists Angus councillor
ATTACKS: Politician warns of increasing aggression
It is time to cull increasingly aggressive gulls, according to an Angus councillor.
Independent council member Tommy Stewart from Montrose said all other means of dealing with the coastal menace have been exhausted. The problem was brought into focus when organisers of the Open at Carnoustie were forced to use a tawny eagle to keep the sea birds from swooping on players and spectators.
Mr Stewart highlighted an attack on a lady in Angus which left her requiring medical attention. Another man was left with a gash in his head from an aggressive gull.
“I feel we now have to look at a cull before the situation gets any worse,” said the councillor.
Aggressive Angus gulls should be culled because other methods to control the birds have failed, according to a local councillor.
Montrose Independent councillor Tommy Stewart has called for the gettough measure to be introduced after receiving reports of a number of gull attacks on members of the public, including one where the victim required medical treatment.
He now wants a new approach to control the gull population.
Mr Stewart said: “In one recent incident, a lady required medical treatment after an attack and I understand that only this week a gentleman received a cut to his head from an aggressive gull.
“These cases may well just be the tip of the iceberg, and I believe that many other incidents go unreported, which masks the scale of the problem.
“The fact that the Open Championship in Carnoustie required the services of a tawny eagle to keep the gulls at bay speaks for itself.
“This has been an issue that has affected coastal towns for long
It’s become impossible to leave your back door open, with the gulls being brave enough to even come into your house. COUNCILLOR TOMMY STEWART
enough, and one I have raised many times over the last few years. The council have tried various methods to contain the problem, such as deployment of a hawk, issued advice not to feed seagulls and also a free nest and egg removal service, all of which, has had little effect.
“I feel we now have to look at a cull, before the situation gets any worse.”
Dundee City Council has implemented a cull over the past five years after exhausting all other non-lethal alternatives, including noise deterrents, plastic owls and netting, and in 2017 shot 165 aggressive gulls and 30 chicks.
Earlier this year, in a bid to pre-empt the problem, Fife Council sent enforcement officers to businesses in Kirkcaldy to give advice on deterring gulls, amid warnings they will adopt a zero tolerance approach to litter louts.
Mr Stewart insisted he did not want to see gulls killed inhumanely but added more drastic action must be taken as the problem will not go away by itself.
He said: “I live in the Glens area of Montrose which has become one of the havens for breeding gulls, and we can see upwards of 100 of them, some of which are swooping on people walking along the street.
“It’s become impossible to leave your back door open, with the gulls being brave enough to even come into your house in search of food.”
Gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to kill, injure or remove any wild bird, and a licence is required for councils to perform a cull, but certain criteria must be met for Scottish Natural Heritage to grant permission.