Local authorities are fighting a losing battle against urban seagulls after the government withdrew £250,000 in funding for research into controlling the birds. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had announced the money in the March budget, but cut it three months later as part of an £83m budget reduction.
Seagulls have increasingly moved inland over the past 20 years, nesting on rooftops instead of cliffs. They tear open bin bags, damage paintwork with droppings, peck at roofing materials, and block gutters with nests. In some areas, they have been reported attacking children and elderly people.
Peter Rock, an urban gull expert, says the number of gull colonies in the UK and Ireland has doubled since 2000, from 239 to at least 468. He estimates councils spend millions on pest control with little effect. Common methods include using fake birds of prey, which Rock dismisses as ineffective, and replacing eggs with dummy eggs, which councils say often fail as gulls re-lay.
Plymouth has deployed a real hawk to deter gulls, but Rock says this merely gets the birds airborne temporarily. Herefordshire Council uses a 'shock and awe' approach of removing nests entirely, but head of environmental health Marc Willimont notes that gulls can become aggressive, vomiting on staff. He also worries about gulls driving out other bird species, such as ducks, which are now nesting in shopping centres and car parks to avoid attacks.
Despite these efforts, the gull population continues to grow. Rock concludes that pest control has done nothing to control numbers, merely moving the problem elsewhere.
