"As the parent of a 2 year old left shaken and bloody following a seagull attack this morning in Leopold Street can I say a big Thank You to all who came to the aid of my wife and son, especially the kind lady in Tradeaway.
To Laurie, Liz, et al, can I also say that it's time to up your game on this matter. Seagulls are now attacking toddlers in the centre of Nairn. Please don't wait until a child is blinded before you step up. If you keep hiding behind the "It's up to The Highland Council to decide" mantra and do nothing then the decline of the high street is inevitable, as more families simply choose to buy everything from Sainsbury's because it's safer than running the Seagull gauntlet...
Gary Ryan
Concerned of the West End"
To Laurie, Liz, et al, can I also say that it's time to up your game on this matter. Seagulls are now attacking toddlers in the centre of Nairn. Please don't wait until a child is blinded before you step up. If you keep hiding behind the "It's up to The Highland Council to decide" mantra and do nothing then the decline of the high street is inevitable, as more families simply choose to buy everything from Sainsbury's because it's safer than running the Seagull gauntlet...
Gary Ryan
Concerned of the West End"
Installing some AA cannons to defend the skies of Nairn would be a good start. The seagull population would be quickly obliterated.
ReplyDeleteFirepower in built up areas is not an option. Solutions will have to be labour intensive, removing nests and piercing eggs.
ReplyDeleteAs we have stated in the Gurn before seagulls problems were debated in the Nairnshire back in the seventies. If it's a blame game then blame all the local and national politicians since then who have not invested in the manpower to react at seagull nesting time.
Highland Council 'Seagull Control and Information'Herring Gulls and the Law
ReplyDeletehttp://www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/animalsandpestcontrol/seagullcontrol.htm
Gulls attacking Whales - rubbish tips to blame here they say in the video
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8438249.stm
Then there's attacks by seagulls in Elgin
http://news.stv.tv/north/108529-postal-worker-flees-delivery-route-after-attacks-by-dive-bombing-seagulls/
Hawk tackles seagull attacks on pupils in Cornwall
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18526443
"It was nothing like this when I was young"
http://www.montrosereview.co.uk/news/local-headlines/more-tales-of-gull-attacks-on-terrified-people-1-1728865
Gulls attack teen in Kirkcaldy - five comments here as well
http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/gang-of-gulls-attack-teen-for-snack-in-kirkcaldy-high-street-1-2421643
Also other articles reporting various problems with Gulls in Cardiff, Carlisle, Cumbernauld, Gloucester, Lancashire, Somerset, Sunderland, Worcester
This is what Cardiff Council say about tackling the Seagull problem
http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2870%2C3142%2C5272&parent_directory_id=2865&id=10215
Also put "seagulls" into the search engine on the Gurn sidebar and you will have several pages of information some of them linking to research.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to do is to STOP FEEDING them! That includes locals and tourists. I don't know how many times I've seen folk sitting outside the Courthouse and up by the Royal Bank feeding them. These birds, like many creatures, are opportunists who quickly work out that if they wait long enough some daft human will take pity on them and throw them a chip. STOP IT!
ReplyDeleteWell Well no big shock that another poor child has been hurt by the flying rats.I hope something will be done....Cull ??????
ReplyDeletegive me a shotgun and a couple of hours and ill have it sorted
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young nobody sat or walked about eating in the street apart from the occasional portion of chips. How much of this has contributed to the behaviour of the gulls?
ReplyDelete