£100,000 to control seagulls ahead of summit

Funding of £100,000 will be given to councils to control seagulls ahead of a summit on Tuesday, the Scottish Government has announced.

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie will chair a summit in Inverness on Tuesday, bringing together council officials, NatureScot, waste management firms, community groups and others to discuss the disruption seagulls can cause and how it can be tackled.

The funding will come from NatureScot and will allow for deterrents which could include the use of lasers, noise, roof spikes and netting designed to stop nesting.

Mr Fairlie said: “The summit allows us to share practical solutions, learn from real-world examples and identify gaps in current policies to develop a co-ordinated approach.

“We know that effective gull management often requires a range of solutions, particularly around litter management which provides food sources.

“Where public safety is at risk, NatureScot can issue control licences.

“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 advisers, we can ensure solutions are tailored to local circumstances with effective deterrents that make urban areas less attractive to gulls.”

While NatureScot chair Professor Colin Galbraith said the birds 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”.

The move comes just days after a minister was forced to resign following a clash with Tory MSP Douglas Ross around the issue.

Mr 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.

Former parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn took issue with Mr Ross’s 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.

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