An Easter egg hunt was blighted by a string of seagull attacks, which reportedly saw a large group of the birds swoop on and strike children.
Inverness Business Improvement District (Bid) said its team witnessed 16 gull attack incidents during a city centre Easter egg hunt the organisation had put on last Friday and Saturday.
Bid ambassador Janice Worthing told The Telegraph: “This included frequent and coordinated behaviour from adult gulls, watching for opportunities, calling others in, and repeatedly swooping at and, in some cases, striking members of the public, including young children.
“Gulls are really quick and can strike suddenly and decisively.”
Residents have now been urged to report further gull attacks. The behaviour of the birds has long been an issue in the city on the northeast coast of Scotland, where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth.
As such, the Bid has a gull management strategy, which offers “proactive steps” for businesses, residents, and visitors to “reduce problems associated with gulls in the city centre”.
About the issues, it says: “These birds have adapted to city life, using rooftops as nesting sites and scavenging for food from litter and waste.
“While they are a natural part of our environment, their presence can lead to issues such as noise, mess, and aggressive behaviour, particularly during breeding season.”
The organisation asks people not to feed the birds, to ensure rubbish is disposed of properly and to report any gull issues via its online portal.
Highland Council said it will undertake an Inverness Gull Management Plan pilot project, which is designed to “improve understanding of the gull population in and around Inverness and Nairn, and to identify the impacts gulls are having on our community.”
This will involve a link on its website for people to provide and record “Gull Impact Data”, but a spokesperson stressed the local authority “does not undertake gull control activities in public areas and has no statutory duty to do so”.
The spokesperson told The Independent: “The introduction of a dedicated gull impact reporting system is intended to identify locations across The Highlands where gull behaviour is affecting communities.
“The data collected will help determine whether patterns or hotspots exist, and whether certain impacts are more prevalent, such as aggressive gull behaviour related to chick protection, or behaviours associated with food scavenging.
“As different behaviours require different mitigation approaches, meaningful and reliable data will support a targeted and proportionate approach to advising on appropriate mitigation measures to reduce negative interactions between gulls and people.”
Last year, the Scottish parliament was warned a nationwide summit to tackle Scotland’s seagull population must be held before someone is seriously hurt or killed.
Former Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross called the debate in Holyrood, arguing the threat posed by “nuisance” gulls has escalated to a “deadly” level, with people’s lives now at risk.
Last September, the Scottish government announced £100,000 funding for communities across the country “to tackle disruptive urban gull populations”.
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