Seagull food could be laced with contraceptives to control population following attacks

22 October 2024, 20:27

Seagull food could be laced with contraceptive pills to reduce their numbers after locals claimed they had become a “menace” in a West Midlands town.

The new “safe sex for seagulls” initiative looks to curb the seagull population in Blackpole, Worcester, following reports of attacks on children and dogs.

The council has tried several methods to control the seagulls, including hiring hawks to scare them away and taking eggs from their nest.

However, Jill Desayrah, Labour councillor of Warndon and Elbury Park, said it was time for a new tactic with the population “getting out of hand”.

“Many people contact me about the issues caused by having such a high concentration of gulls around Blackpole,” she said.

Ms Desayrah said lacing food with the birth control pill would be a way to “humanely reduce the number of gulls” with the method used to control pigeons in Barcelona and Venice.

She added: “They laced food that would be attractive to the gulls with contraceptives. I passed the idea on to Worcestershire Regulatory Services and they are following up on it, seeking permission from the relevant authority.

“I hope that one or a combination of these solutions will reduce the problem, because I do feel it’s necessary to do something as soon as possible.”

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The city’s annual gull population survey found that 376 pairs live in the Blackpole retail parks and industrial estates, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of the city’s entire population and represents an increase of 3 per cent in the past year.

The majority of seagulls are lesser black-backed gulls, which are a protected species and are attracted to the area by its flat-roofed buildings and waste from the food outlets.

Worcestershire Regulatory Services receives complaints from residents about noise, faeces and the aggressive behaviour of seagulls during nesting season.

Earlier this year, an order banning people from feeding seagulls in the city centre was scrapped.

Councillor Alan Amos, a former mayor of Worcester, criticised the decision to axe the feeding ban, saying it would lead to an increase in the number of seagulls, which he described as “vicious flying rats”.

“I have witnessed first-hand the problems the UK-wide epidemic is causing,” he said. “One shop owner told me he’d seen a gull ferociously attack a young girl in a pushchair, while a constituent emailed to say her dog had been attacked.”

An annual gull report will be presented to the city council’s environment committee on November 5 before it considers a gull management plan for 2025.