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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Marc McLean

Dumfries and Galloway Council swoops on hundreds of seagull nests in bid to curb causing chaos

The council has swooped on hundreds of seagull nests in a bid to curb the chaos caused by the birds across Dumfries and Galloway this year.

A contractor spent months removing 275 nests and 450 eggs from council buildings – after getting permission from NatureScot.

The majority of nests and eggs were recovered in Dumfries , while others were picked up in Stranraer, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, and Sanquhar.

Several council buildings, including primary schools and community centres, have also been “gull-proofed” by fitting roof spikes, wires or nets to prevent seagulls landing and nesting.

Several lampposts in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Stranraer have also been gull-proofed.

The council committed to spending £83,500 on of tackling the problem of an increasing population of seagulls swooping on people and dogs.

A progress report will be provided at the council’s communities committee on Thursday, February 2.

In it, community protection manager Sandra Harkness, details how £67,000 had been spent on: 600 gull proof sacks – £1,500; gull proof bins – £42,000, fitting roof spikes and nets – £9,148, egg and nest removal from council properties – £14,620.

At the end of last month there was £16,731 remaining which will be used for ongoing gull-proofing before the 2023 breeding season starts.

The council expects to use the full £84,000 allocated to the task this financial year.

The large amount of nests and eggs removed meant that the bill for this task was higher than expected.

Mrs Harkness said: “The spend on egg and nest removal was more than the budget for this activity with £14,600 being spent against a budget of £10,500. However, the contractor who removed the eggs and nests also fitted roof spikes whenever possible as this was more cost-effective.”

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