21st September 2006

Gloucester has won a top South West award for the way it deals with seagulls but the problems are still growing in Gloucester (now 2,478 breeding pairs, a 8% rise on the previous year) and the problem is also getting worse in Cheltenham.

Cllr Philip Booth, a spokesperson for Stroud District Green party said: "Droppings in our the streets and shrill cries keeping people awake should not be underestimated as a problem. However as the RSPB in Gloucestershire point out the seagull problem is our fault. If there is food about and nest sites, there will always be birds. In both Gloucester and Cheltenham not only is there the food-litter problems like half eaten takeaways but also in some gardens and areas people are feeding them. Infact nationally the number of seagulls has dropped by 25 to 49 per cent in the past 25 years when there were around 300,000 - but here people are creating the perfect conditions for them and it is no wonder they are having such phenomenal breeding success."


Crack-down on problem needed

Philip Booth added: "Culling has been suggested but this is a wholly unnecessary step as the RSPB and many others have pointed out. The Green party would strongly oppose such a measure which Cheltenham Borough have not ruled out yet - indeed they are reported to be investigating whether a cull is permissible under licence from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is far better to find longer term humane solutions like capping landsites, bird-proofing key sites, raising awareness about not dropping food and ensuring litter is removed swiftly. This would mean fewer seagulls attracted to the area."

Philip Booth added: "Both Gloucester and Cheltenham have oiled eggs which stops the chick from hatching and means the gull does not lay another. There is also now a city council-run scheme, which involves real eggs being replaced with plastic ones. That scheme appears to have worked very well this summer - better than the egg-oiling programme. The move fools the birds into thinking the plastic eggs are the real thing and keeps the population down."

Philip Booth noted: "The first record of urban gulls in the city was back in 1976 when three pairs of lesser black-blacked gulls bred at the Docks. It has been rising ever since. A letter in The Echo summed up the problem nicely. It read: 'Madam, While Cheltenham complains about the seagull population, the gulls would like it to be known that they would prefer less tomato sauce on the burgers and less salt on the chips. Elizabeth Downing, Cheltenham.' "

Notes:

(i) Read more about Gloucester City's approach:
http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/Content.aspx?URN=2162