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More culls on the way to ease Inverness gulls menace


By SPP Reporter

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Seagulls have been dive-bombing people in Inverness and Nairn.
Seagulls have been dive-bombing people in Inverness and Nairn.

A CLAMPDOWN on Inverness’s nuisance seagull population, which has wreaked havoc on city residents in recent years, could continue next year after 1,400 unhatched eggs were destroyed in a trial.

Contractors removed the massive haul of eggs between April and July in the city centre and Longman during the one-year pilot run by Highland Council and the Inverness Business Improvement District (BID).

Workers from a pest control firm raided 620 nests and took an average of two to three eggs at a time because the gulls returned to lay more. Nests were also removed.

The £21,000 pilot scheme has now been declared a “great success” by both organisations, despite another gull attack on a pedestrian in the city centre this week.

Noe Highland councillors will be asked to extend it next year.

David Haas, the council’s Inverness city manager, said there was anecdotal evidence that the level of nuisance posed by the birds had dropped in recent months, including noise and their droppings.

It comes after several years of complaints from the public about the threat they pose which have been featured in the Highland News.

A heavily pregnant woman needed hospital treatment for head injuries after being dive bombed by a bird in the Longman last year while other adults and children have been victims of terrifying swoops from the gulls when eating outdoors in the city centre.

On Monday, a 33-year-old man was walking down Bridge Street clutching a sandwich when a gull swooped and struck the back of his head in a bid to snatch the food.

The shocked man, who did not want to be named, said: “I had just opened my sandwich and was walking along when I was almost knocked off my feet. I didn’t see it coming and the gull fell on the pavement. The bird didn’t cut me thankfully but I was a bit concerned I might have picked up some nasty infection because their beaks are rooting around in everything.”

Mike Smith, BID manager, said there had not been any reports of seagull attacks in recent months and thought it might have been a “rogue” bird.

“We have had very positive feedback from both councillors and traders during the pilot,” he said. “We hope to continue it for two, three and four years for a cumulative effect. We have made a significant difference this year but it is ongoing.”

Mr Haas said a report would be presented to the city of Inverness area committee by the end of the year.

There had been up to £40,000 allocated, two-thirds of Inverness Common Good Fund money and the remainder from BID.

Removing the gulls’ eggs disrupts their breeding patterns and at some point the birds will decide it is not worth returning to the existing area.


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