Seagulls are trained to be couple’s odd new pets

A COUPLE have tamed a pair of seagulls as pets.

Matthew Topen and Katrina Baxter, both 26, feed them meat and bread from their hands outside their flat in Dundee city centre.

They say they’ve won the trust of the gulls, named Gary and Chantelle, over the last six months.

And they claim they birds recognise them and cry out when they see them walking in the street.

Seagulls are widely dismissed as vermin and scavengers, but Mr Topen says they are easy pets.

He said: “We don’t need to take them for walks or anything like that, and if there is anything that is going off in the fridge then we can feed it to them. It’s less wasteful than just throwing everything into the bin.”

Mr Topen, who works as a retail manager, added: “They just appeared at the window one day when we were having our dinner, but when we opened the window they flew away.

“They kept on coming back when we were having our tea and we would throw out some of whatever we were having.

“Over time they started to trust us and would come right up to the window sill for their tea.

“For the last six months they have come every morning for breakfast and then come back at tea time.

“They even speak to us — I will say ‘hi Gary’ and he squawks back. It’s basically the same way you communicate with a dog.

“Chantelle is the dominant one – she makes the most noise.

“They are getting really big now.

“Sometimes I even worry that they will stop being able to fly because they are being fed so well.

“They definitely recognise us. When there are friends over at the flat they sometimes keep their distance until they see me, my brother or Katrina.”