Dumfries and Galloway Council plans seagull headcount to see impact of management measures

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A seagull headcount will likely be carried out again in Dumfries and Galloway following years of measures to combat the bird population.

This comes amid reports from NatureScot earlier this year of seagull numbers significantly declining across the country. Councillors voted at Tuesday’s communities committee for the continuation of activities including egg and nest removal, and installing spikes on roofs, to manage numbers of the divebombing birds – and hopefully reduce attacks on residents and visitors.

However, some councillors expressed concern about the gulls and the welfare of chicks. Stranraer and the Rhins Councillor Ben Dashper said: “I was reading this morning that all gull populations in the UK are on the decline now. “And it does say in the report that they are suffering from things like avian flu, so do we have any information on gull number in Dumfries and Galloway currently – and the effects that our management policy might have on these populations? “While it is management, I feel there needs to be some sort of narrative around protection as well.” Sandra Harkness, the council’s community protection manager, explained that a gull count was commissioned in 2020 and there are plans to do another one in the future.

She added: “We are currently in the process of upskilling our environmental safety officer to try to do a future gull count on our own to see what the impact has been on actual gull numbers. “We are very aware that this is gull management, it’s not just gull control or eradication. “It’s about managing the population so that they can live with residents in Dumfries and Galloway, and not cause the level of distress that they have been doing.” Nith Councillor David Slater highlighted