THE Scottish Government is considering issuing licences to control seagulls amid concerns that the birds could cause “serious injury or death” if left unchecked.
The news comes after SNP MSP Fergus Ewing raised concerns about the impact aggressive seagulls are having in Moray – and suggested a public inquiry would be needed should one of the birds kill a person.
As it stands, all UK gulls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to kill or injure the birds, as well as criminalising destroying their eggs or nests.
But pressure has been building on the Scottish Government to allow controls of seagulls after one of the birds reportedly attacked an elderly woman in Moray, causing her to fall over and break her leg – before attacking her again after returning home from hospital.
Speaking at Holyrood on Thursday, Ewing asked whether NatureScot could be directed “to issue licences to control the birds and help prevent such injuries”.
He said: “All too often in Scotland, where there is a serious injury or death which could and should have been avoided, we have a public inquiry, often costing millions of pounds, followed by a report to ministers who will say, we must learn lessons from this.
“Would it not be better to have taken the necessary action to prevent the injury or death ever occurring, where that risk is clear, direct, and foreseeable, as in this case?
“And given the risk of serious injury and death, will the minister now take the necessary action with the Section 11 order under the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 before it is too late?”
“To reduce the risk of health and safety concerns of gulls, NatureScot will be considering an area-wide gull licence to deal with the immediate concerns of the upcoming nesting season for the potential health and safety reasons.
“And I understand that there is an issue around what the potential issues are that Mr Ewing has highlighted, and I've made that very clear to NatureScot.
“But gull numbers are in decline and the longer-term solution cannot be further population reductions where mitigation action can be taken, and that requires collective action.
“So we will work together through a summit that I will hold later this year with key partners, including local authorities, to ensure that appropriate measures are in place ahead of next year's breeding season.”
He added that "people standing at the side of a pier throwing chips out" would only make the issues worse.
The remarks from the minister represent a shift in position compared to last month, when Fairlie told Tory MSP Douglas Ross that while he understood that gulls could be a problem, “killing them and giving licences out willy-nilly is not the answer”.
Speaking on Thursday, Ross said he had received a “Freedom of Information response from NatureScot, when I had asked how many injuries they had recorded by gull attacks in each of the last five years, and they have said in their response that they do not hold that information”.
He added: “How can they be taking decisions on these licences when they don't know the impact?
“And I've also put this to the minister before, they are refusing licences at the moment for reasons such as businesses could give customers umbrellas to protect themselves by walking in and out, and they won't be attacked by gulls if they've got umbrellas. Does he agree that that is utter madness and NatureScot have got to treat this as a serious issue?”
Fairlie said: “I have raised these points with NatureScot. We have come to the conclusion that there will be actions taken this year in order to make sure that we deal with the immediate problem of this year, but there will be a summit that will allow us to make sure we take the appropriate action to preserve the status of the gulls, but at the same time, make sure we can live beside them.”
There have not been any reported fatalities in the UK from a seagull attack, although in 2012 the London Evening Standard reported that an 80-year-old man had died from a heart attack during an encounter with a flock.
He had disturbed a nest of chicks while trying to clean bird droppings from the roof of his garage in Anglesey, north Wales, the report said.
