Seagulls…cull or not to cull.
Seagulls have been in the news for the past two weeks for killing and attacking a small dog and a tortoise. There are some people who want the gulls culled. This shocks me.
Herring gulls are protected birds. They live mainly by the sea and have done for thousands of years. Their diet mainly consists of fish, crabs and live food. They also scavenge.
Their enjoyment of chips, sandwiches and other human foodstuffs is the fault of people who feed them, who think that throwing chips up in the air to watch the seagulls swoop is entertaining.
We leave bags of food out on streets or on land field sites and expect these curious, intelligent, inquisitive and hungry birds to ignore them.
Intelligent they may be, but telling the difference between entertaining the crowds by taking chips midair or taking from someones hand uninvited, is something they cannot distinguish between. So we blame them and demonise them.
Herring gulls pair up early in life and stay monogamous…loyal to their partner even if they haven’t seen them for months. They will return to their nesting sites and wait for their partner to return and will not take another partner if their original mate doesn’t return.
Gulls are excellent parents..keeping their young with them for up to six months. The grey youngsters can often be seen in our harbour bleeting for food from their frazzled parents.
Gulls are birds of remarkable character with courage and determination. I’ve seen them fight of huge buzzards that tried to eat their chicks.
In the air there is little so beautiful as a gull on the wing. They soar and swoop and ride the currents…they are a joy to behold. Against a blue sky they are a distinct and attractive feature of the coast.
The Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world and it lives here. In the air it soars like Concorde…elegant and impressive.
Do they make a mess of cars and coats on occasion…yes. I’ve suffered the indignity of being splattered, but does that mean I want them dead. No….of course not. They were here long before people and buildings and will be here long after we’ve gone and I’m, for one, glad of it.
Do they take ice-creams out of the hands of people..yes. People should be made aware of this and avoid putting their ices at arms length, eat indoors or under shelter where possible. Better take precautions then kill these birds, surely.
I saw a tweet a few days ago where a farmer had put a sign up asking dog owners to keep their pets on leads. The reason for this is that a dog had raced through his flock killing nine, injuring three and orphaning eleven lambs.
Do we call for a cull of dogs for the above. No, of course we don’t. Nor should we cull seagulls who are doing nothing more than protecting their young.
I am happy to see that in a local poll 52% Torquay residents have voted to leave the gulls alone and not cull them. Most have never had a problem with them. I wish it had been more, but I’m happy with a majority.
devon2mother 