The region’s seagull problem has been branded an “epidemic” by two councillors.
People across the region have had to put up with attacks from the birds for many years, with Kirkcudbright residents claiming their mental health is being affected as the noise of the gulls is waking them early in the morning.
Tommy Sloan and Willie Scobie have now called on the local authority to create an “effective and efficient work plan” to deal with the “serious gull infestation” which is having an impact “from Stranraer in the west to Annan in the east”.
And they want the Scottish Government to help tackle “what can only be described as a problem of epidemic proportions”.
The motion from the two Stranraer and Rhins members, who make up the Dumfries and Galloway Socialist Group on the council, will be discussed at Thursday’s full council meeting.
A report by community protection manager Sandra Harkness says that while a gull control project introduced in Dumfries in 2009 had reduced the number of breeding pairs in the town, it found there were increasing numbers elsewhere. Annan, Kirkcudbright, Stranraer and Sanquhar all have significant gull populations.
It was agreed last November to expand the gull control project to cover the whole of Dumfries and Galloway and a dedicated environmental safety officer took up their post at the end of August.
Their main role is to develop a gull management plan and keep an eye on the region’s gull population and the negative impact it has on residents.
A report will go before the communities committee in December looking at action that could be taken to deal with the problem.
Earlier this month, an open letter was sent to the council’s chief executive containing 65 surveys completed by people living in Kirkcudbright. These highlighted issues the gulls were causing with their “aggressiveness” and will be used when forming the management plan.
But Ms Harkness warns NatureScot has “strict conditions” on what can be done under licence, with the destruction of eggs, nest or live birds only allowed “if it is a last resort and is necessary for protecting human health and safety”. That includes “dive-bombing the public or where there is a risk of bird droppings contaminating foodstuffs”.
The report adds that the increase in summer visitors shows there is a need for bigger bins to help ward off the gull menace.
A gull-proof bin was put in Dumfries High Street and as this proved “extremely effective”, similar bins will be installed at 36 different locations by the end of the month. Other bins will be fitted with flaps to make them gull-proof.
The level of complaints has fallen in the last three years.
