Scottish Government earmarks £100,000 to tackle threat posed by urban gulls

Urban gull problems across Scotland are to be targeted with £100,000 of government funding, amid rising concerns over public safety and damage in town centres.

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie will chair a summit in Inverness on Tuesday, bringing together councillors, housing associations, businesses, waste management groups, community organisations, scientific experts and NatureScot.

It comes just days after Scottish parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn was forced to resign following a clash with Tory MSP Douglas Ross around the issue.

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On Thursday, Hepburn admitted he used language he shouldn’t have inside the Parliament building.

Ross had raised the problem in Holyrood last week, holding up the final vote of the Scottish Government’s justice reforms legislation while victims were in the public gallery.

Hepburn took issue with Ross’ timing and the pair clashed as they left the chamber, with the former Scottish Tory leader claiming he was “physically assaulted and verbally abused” by the minister.

Hepburn denied the allegation of assault, but resigned on Friday, saying he had fallen short of his “personal code of practice”.

The Scottish Government said Tuesday’s meeting has been called in response to growing alarm over gull behaviour in urban areas, where numbers are rising even as coastal populations decline.

Fairlie will confirm that NatureScot is investing £100,000 in councils to help limit damage ahead of next year’s breeding season. Deterrents could include lasers, noise, roof spikes and netting to stop nesting.

“Where public safety is at risk, NatureScot can issue control licences,” said Fairlie. “Our focus now is on how we can prevent these issues from arising next year, with extra support provided and I look forward to seeing the projects that this additional funding will help.

“By working directly with affected communities and expert advisors we can ensure solutions are tailored to local circumstances with effective deterrents that make urban areas less attractive to gulls.”

But Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross described the announced funding as “pitiful”.

He said: “Cash-strapped councils, organisations and community groups have already had to shell out thousands of pounds thanks to the inaction from SNP ministers in tackling menacing gulls, but nothing has changed and in many areas the problem is getting worse.

“This will be more taxpayers’ money squandered if SNP ministers and quango bosses do not urgently change their approach.

“Yet Jim Fairlie has decided this meeting should be a closed door talking shop between him and NatureScot bosses rather than hearing directly from those who have suffered as a result of these birds and those living in constant fear of being attacked by gulls.

“He should be using this summit to split the functions of NatureScot. It is ridiculous they are both responsible for protecting bird numbers and handing out licences to control them.

“Sadly, this farcical summit will achieve nothing for communities in Moray, the Highlands and across Scotland who are sick and tired of SNP ministers living on a different planet when it comes to this issue.”

NatureScot chair Professor Colin Galbraith said seagulls had adapted to food shortages and climate change by frequenting towns and cities, adding that the funding will help councils to “develop proactive and collaborative plans to manage gulls in a way that balances their conservation with any control activities”.

He added: “While the debate on urban gulls has long centred on control through licensing, and that will undoubtably remain part of the picture, it is important at the same time to look at the underlying reasons for any problems, including the availability of food and nest sites for the gulls in urban settings.”