In a renewed bid to tackle the menace of marauding seagulls, Worcester council is mulling over the idea of putting the pesky birds on the Pill. The city’s officials are considering lacing food with birth-control drugs as part of a “safe sex” campaign for the frisky gulls.
After years of failed attempts to curb the gull population, including employing hawks and swiping eggs from nests, the council is hopeful that this contraceptive measure could mean fewer attacks on locals, especially in Blackpole. Cllr Jill Desayrah, representing Warndon and Elbury Park, has dubbed the plan “safe sex for seagulls”.
She expressed her worries about the soaring gull numbers, saying: “I am concerned that the increasing numbers of gulls are getting out of hand.”
Residents have been bending her ear over the troubles caused by the high density of gulls in Blackpole. Cllr Desayrah is keen to “humanely reduce the number of gulls” by looking into methods other countries have tried.
The Pill tactic is already keeping pigeon populations in check in Barcelona and Venice. She revealed: “They laced food that would be attractive to the gulls with contraceptives.”
Having passed the suggestion to Worcestershire Regulatory Services, she’s waiting for them to chase up permission from the powers that be.
She concluded: “I hope that one or a combination of these solutions will reduce the problem, because I do feel it’s necessary to do something as soon as possible.”
The latest Gull Population Survey in the city has revealed a whopping 376 pairs of gulls are holed up at Blackpole’s retail parks and industrial estates, which is over half of the city’s entire gull population, notching up a 3% rise from the previous year. The crew mostly consists of Lesser Black Backed Gulls — a protected species — drawn like magnets to flat roofs and the scrumptious waste from local food joints.
Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) can’t catch a break with ongoing gripes regarding noise, bird poo, and gnarly behaviour peaking during nesting season. The plot thickened when the city centre’s no feed zone for these feathery menaces was binned earlier this year.
Cllr Alan Amos, who’s had his share of feuds with the “vicious flying rats” as a council member and once mayor, didn’t mince words on the ditched ban, suggesting it’ll just fuel a seagull boom. He said: “As a councillor and former mayor of Worcester – where the vicious and brassy flying rats have waged war on residents in recent years – I have witnessed first-hand the problems the UK-wide epidemic is causing.”
An Annual Gull Report will be presented to the City Council’s Environment Committee on November 5.