Inverness City Council has announced new measures to tackle the growing problem of aggressive urban gulls, which have been dive-bombing residents and stealing food. The council will deploy a combination of methods, including egg replacement and nest removal, to control the gull population.
The move comes as local authorities across the UK struggle with the issue, exacerbated by the government's withdrawal of £250,000 in funding for research on gull control. Councils are spending millions on pest control with limited success, according to experts.
Urban gull expert Peter Rock noted that the number of urban gull colonies in the UK and Ireland has doubled since 2000, reaching at least 468. He criticised many pest control methods as ineffective, stating that councils are 'wasting millions' on approaches based on guesswork.
Inverness will focus on replacing gull eggs with dummy eggs and removing nests, a strategy used elsewhere with mixed results. Council officials acknowledged the challenge, as gulls are a protected species, and any control methods must be humane and legal.
Residents have reported increasing aggression from gulls, with attacks on children and pets. The council urges the public not to feed the birds and to secure rubbish bins to reduce food sources.
