Bird control experts in a flap over council’s solution to Hereford’s seagull menace
Herefordshire Council has come under fire from bird control experts for announcing plans to deal with an ever-growing seagull problem in Hereford city centre by contracting a falconry company to disperse gulls and remove their nests.
According to the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS), the council has ‘failed to understand’ that the use of falconry is an inappropriate and ineffective method of controlling roof-nesting gulls.
Emma Haskell, PiCAS UK Director, said: “The use of a hawk is not only hugely expensive, with some companies charging up to £150 an hour, but hawks are commonly ‘mobbed’ by gulls, particularly in the breeding season, and therefore this method of control cannot be effective.
“Bath and North East Somerset Council attempted to control roof-nesting gulls by using hawks in 2007 and although the council suggested that the scheme had been partially successful it attracted a derisive response from experts and wildlife groups alike.
“Falconers are not bird control experts, they are people who derive pleasure from using one bird to kill another, and although the falconer contracted by Herefordshire Council may have given assurances that their birds will not kill the target species or other wild birds, including protected species, killing will take place with regularity.
“It is impossible to train a bird of prey not to kill – killing is an instinctive response in any raptor and they will attack any bird, not just the target species.
“Not only this, but removing gull nests is a complete waste of time and resource as gulls will re-build their nests and start laying again within 24 hours – any bird control expert would understand this and it just confirms that the company being used by Herefordshire Council has no idea what it is doing.”
According to PiCAS, the only strategies that can effect a reduction of gull numbers in an urban area are holistic strategies that deal with the source of the problem as well as the problem itself.
Emma Haskell said: “Most entrenched gull problems in urban areas are there as a direct result of fast food refuse and this problem must be dealt with before any action is taken to deal with gulls themselves.
“Street cleansing services must be upgraded with both the public and fast food outlets being educated to dispose of litter and kitchen waste in a responsible manner. Fines must be imposed on those that do not comply.
“Once the source of the problem is identified and dealt with, gull breeding sites must be mapped out and a regime of egg-oiling (coating the egg in oil to stop the embryo developing) undertaken and continued for at least three to five years.
“This combined with providing advice and possibly grants to those experiencing problems with gulls will be the most effective way forward. To use a falconer to control roof-nesting gulls is a worryingly irresponsible use of public money and almost laughably naive.”