Scottish Government to hold seagull summit to tackle 'dangerous menace'

The Scottish Government has promised to hold a “seagull summit” later this year to tackle the “dangerous seagull menace” in the north of Scotland.

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie came under pressure in parliament from Highland MSPs on Wednesday, warning that the birds are posing a risk to the health a safety of people and putting some businesses at risk.

Tory MSP Douglas Ross and SNP MSP Fergus Ewing have been calling on Scottish ministers to intervene in the ongoing seagull “crisis” in Moray after an elderly woman broke her leg during an attack earlier this year.

As part of his efforts against the gulls, Ross held urgent “crunch talks” with Ewing, NatureScot – Scotland’s state-owned nature agency – and the minister for agriculture and connectivity, Jim Fairlie, in April.

Ross said that in 2023, NatureScot granted more than 100 licences for pest controllers in Inverness and Nairn to either remove nests or “spike” eggs, preventing the gulls from hatching.

In 2024, no licences were initially approved except on appeal and after most of the eggs had hatched. Ross claims this same pattern has continued this year.

NatureScot updated its guidance in February 2024 in response to “significant and serious declines” in all five gull species that breed in Scotland.

With gull numbers in Scotland down by between 44% and 75%, depending on the species, NatureScot intended to reduce the number of lethal licences issued to control the birds in towns and cities.

The organisation is now focusing on preventative, non-lethal measures to control the birds.

“We have always been very clear on the reasons for updating our guidance for gull licensing. The evidence shows that gull populations are facing significant and serious declines,” a spokesperson for NatureScot said.

“Simply killing gulls and their chicks is a sticking plaster and will not solve the problems some people experience.

“We need to find ways to live with gulls and other wildlife, and that is why we are working with several Scottish local authorities to look at how we can support a more coordinated approach to gull management across a number of town and city centres, including Inverness, Nairn and Elgin.”

However, Ross has still accused NatureScot of managing the “ongoing gull menace” in towns across Moray “extremely poorly”.

He criticised the license crackdown and said he has been met with an “attitude from NatureScot that they are right, and everyone else is wrong”.

“They refuse to acknowledge the concerns of local people and businesses and they are making it almost impossible for licences to be issued to control the growing population of urban gulls,” he said.

More information about the Government’s seagull summit will be announced in due course.