Cause of gull plague is plain for all to see

YET again, people’s summer pleasure is being disrupted by masses of aggressive seagulls, and the same old ideas are being rolled out… culls, spikes, nets, “seagullproof” bags, and so on.

When is the Assembly going to admit the cause that is obvious to anyone with half an eye and even a modicum of common sense – rubbish collections?

When rubbish collections happened weekly, or in many places more frequently, despite the massively lower staffing of councils then, the problem of seagulls was rarely mentioned, other than in connection with seafronts and council waste tips. Now, when the Assembly permits councils to leave stinking filthy rubbish lying round in the streets for weeks on end the seagull problem is rife!

Seagulls have excellent eyesight and a keen sense of smell, and can spot food from a considerable distance... they must regard three-weekly or monthly refuse collections as manna from heaven! And the rats are much more prolific too because of the rubbish, they are not even slightly inconvenienced by the stronger bags, and seagulls are not averse to a nice fresh rat for dinner.

Why are we paying appallingly high council taxes in Wales for this disgustingly low standard of service? The blame rests at the top of the political tree, for permitting it! It is time for the Assembly to force councils to employ more workers, while reducing their massively bloated bureaucracies, but then, first they must put their own house in order in the Bay.

Ian McNicholas Waunlwyd, Ebbw Vale