Horrified to see this, called the council whereby I was LAUGHED AT over the phone and told me they are a pest and they had to do it.
I argued that the methods used were awful and said that it had upset me. The line then went dead!
What can be done about this, any ideas?
http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2010/07/07/story15339253t0.shtm
Hi Carmen
Surely this is illegal as nesting birds cannot be disturbed.If gulls have become a protected species it is even worse.
Gulls may be a problem but I cannot see how destroying this years nests and chicks will impact on next years population as gulls will still come in from elswhere.
A better idea must be to make the roofs etc less attractive for them to nest on in the first place i.e. netting or something.
I also think the attitude of the person at the council that you spoke to was abominable.
Can the RSPB do anything I wonder?
Rachel
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Hi Rachel, thanks for the reply.
I have contacted Aberdeen branch with the details and they will look into it.
I know that there are other CHEAPER methods of deterring the gulls such as flying kites etc.
My husband, an ex police officer says that the police response is a neglect of duty as the law is quite clear about humane culling. He does say however the penalties are inadequate blah blah blah (rant).
I am really upset at the moment. I can understand some people considering these birds a pest, I however feel they are beautiful birds and just because they scavenge and are in large numbers, Does this mean they should be killed like this?
It is only my opinion, but I feel it is human behaviour that is causing the problem through our methods of disposing waste for starters.
Hello Carmen, thank you for bothering to ring this council and I hope they are prosecuted, not only for breaking the law but also for their barbaric methods of killing these gulls. There are plenty of ways of deterring the birds from nesting, which should have been done at the start of the year.
Thanks for the reply Brenda. I hope action is taken but I wont hold my breath.
This is absolutely terrible and i am pleased you rang the council.How dare they think they can cull whichever way they want.Everyone should complain to the council on reading that story.I hate Culling but when it is done it should be humane.I am sickened and disgusted and hope the RSPB take this onboard.I would like to hear from a moderator on this subject..
An optimist sees the beauty of the complete rose.A pessimist sees only the thorn .
I think you are absolutely right to be outraged by the behaviour of the council. Most problems like this are the result of human behaviour. It's not the fault of the birds that they have found easy pickings. If anybody should be persued or at least educated it's the people who are so careless with their litter.
I reckon that your best weapon apart from what you are already doing is giving the council bad publicity. Councils and other bureaucratic organisations don't like it (up 'em as Corporal Jones in Dad's Army used to say).
Keep up the good work.
Regards TJ
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Tony
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I am in shock how poeple could be so cruel and callus to the gulls who are only going things naturally as nature intended such as raising a family of their own etc....
Anyone caught using an Air Rifle to kill a wild animal illegally should be fined there and them, no matter who they are, and what company they work for. There is no them, and us at all
There have been things to try to deter gulls in the past such as dipping the Gulls eggs in Linseed Oil. I do not know the success rate of the cure.
To me, if anything people are the biggest culprits for causing the Gull boom. They leave litter, half eaten MacDonald Meals, food from takeaways easily got spilling out of bins/left on the streets. Food Companies are as much to blame as people... leftover food which is easily got by the gulls.
Humans cause the problem and the Gulls take the blame for the results of the litter louts. If anything some humans are the vermin not the Gulls.
So unfair to blame an animal for anything at all. The animal does not know any better - humans know better.
Hope that there is a solution to this issue soon
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Thats local goverment for you in any city in the UK.
What realy makes me laugh is That the Likes of Aberdeen and Dundee are coastal citys .. Ofcorse we have Gulls They been here since befor us. But the flat roofs of the Office blocks and in some cases Houses and flats .. Mine included . Gulls will nest on them because all they see are conveinent Cliffs (nesting sites).
They should be left alone and not harmed in any way Its only a few weeks of the year . If folks are bothered then bring a brolly to work and leave the birds to it.
Once the breeding season is done Put nets up and small spikes to stop them landing and nesting.
Killing them for useing the buildings we have built is just palin stupid and But they find that its the cheep way to deal with a problem thats never going to go away.
Convertion and protiction only works if the local goverments let it .. Seagulls dont pay rent They just leave calling cards on the bosses cars.
to get this sorted out you should write to your local MP and MSP . But dont hold your breath Gulls aint as cute as Swallow swifts amd martins ... Everyone wants them nesting in our buildings!
Cheers
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
Normally rooftop Gull control is achieved by nest destruction before eggs hatch, oiling eggs, or removing eggs and replacing them with replicas. This sounds like a cowboy pest control outfit and a Council that is not properly in control of it (or possibly doesn't give a toss).
This is a matter for the RSPCA which deals specifically with cruelty/animal welfare issues.
As has been pointed out, Gulls have colonised urban areas largely because of the abundant food supply from landfill sites and discarded edible waste in the streets. If the Gulls weren't hoovering up the leftover takeaways (carryouts in Scotland) it would be rats instead. I know which I'd prefer.....
JBNTS
Every day a little more irate about bird of prey persecution, and I have a cat - Got a problem with that?
All UK wild bird species are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and in Scotland there are slight differences which come under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. This makes it an offence to take, injure or destroy a bird, it's nests, eggs or young. However, some (named) species can be killed (including destruction of eggs, nests and young) under the terms of a General Licence, in certain circumstances. These would be: to preserve or protect public health and safety, air safety (near airports), or to prevent serious damage to livestock, food for livestock or crops. This is explained in full in this document.
Killing gulls for making a mess, being noisy or a 'nuisance' are not acceptable reasons for killing adults and chicks using the Licence.Before a General Licence (in Scotland, issued by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) - 01463 725000) can be used for any of the above reasons, all non-lethal methods of control must have been tried and shown to be ineffective or impracticable. These could include deterrents such as spikes or wires (to prevent roosting) or audible/sonic deterrents.
When a Licence is used to legally control birds, they must be killed, or 'dispatched' humanely, otherwise conditions of the Licence are broken, making the actions illegal.
In most cases, councils are avoiding the real issue with gulls - the rise in complaints about gulls has massively increased over the last 20 years and this rise is completely associated with the greater availability of fast food and cheap food sources. Gulls will eat from multiple food sources including waste food in urban areas (fast food and refuse), landfill sites, deliberate feeding by the public and natural food such as fish, invertebrates, molluscs etc. The most effective control measures involve reducing the availability of food and deterring them from nest sites (with spikes etc). However, this is not an instant solution, and requires planning and action well ahead of the nesting season - something that councils tend to forget until it's too late. Because most gull-related problems are confined to the breeding period, and because gulls always return to the same breeding site each year, once access to a breeding area has been blocked and the area protected with deterrents, the gulls will permanently move elsewhere. As with the pigeon, the pest control industry has seen the benefit of trying to exploit this man-made problem, as has the media, with horror stories about gull ‘epidemics’ and the dangers to human health. Fortunately, however, the gull is a protected species of bird and pest control companies cannot use highly profitable lethal controls on gulls as they do to excess with the pigeon. As a result the numbers of gulls currently occupying urban areas is still relatively low, certainly relative to the pigeon, and other than in coastal areas gull-related problems are mainly confined to the breeding period. Gulls can be controlled very effectively and without using any invasive control techniques commonly employed by the pest control industry. Individual buildings can be protected comprehensively by using a combination of deterrents and anti-roosting products, and alongside complimentary controls such as egg-oiling, which can be considered for areas where gulls are breeding in numbers.(PiCAS)
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