Calls for action against seagulls after woman breaks leg in bird attack

Ministers have been urged to tackle the “growing problem” of seagull attacks after an elderly resident broke her leg during one incident.

Former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said despite efforts from Moray Council, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds, issues caused by the birds have only grown.

The Highlands and Islands MSP said he was told of one case in which an elderly woman fell over and broke her leg during a gull attack, before being attacked again after returning home from hospital.

The woman, Ross said, was left too scared to leave her home in fear of the birds.

Rachael Hamilton, the Tory MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, said gulls in Eyemouth have attacked children and are a “blight on businesses who are currently trying to trade in difficult conditions”.

Speaking during topical questions at Holyrood, Ross said: “Moray Council has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on this issue to no effect.

“The Elgin Common Good Fund has spent over £50,000 in the last two years, and again, the problem persists.

“Elgin councillor Peter Bloomfield told me about a case of an elderly resident who left her bungalow, was attacked by a gull, fell over and broke her leg.

“Her carer then came outside and was also attacked by the gull.

“When this elderly resident returned home from hospital she was attacked again and then was fearful of leaving her home at all.

“Does the minister accept this as a growing problem in communities like Moray and across the country? What can be done about it? And will he meet with concerned MSPs from across all the parties to discuss this issue in more detail?”

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said all wild birds in Scotland, as well as in the rest of the UK and Europe, are protected by law “and they should remain so”.

He said: “I appreciate that gulls can be a serious nuisance in urban areas but the answer is not to allow free reign to kill those birds, especially when overall numbers of gulls, taking natural and urban populations together, are actually in decline.

“To help tackle the problems, local authorities and property owners do more to deter gulls from nesting on their properties.

“NatureScot can and do provide licences for lethal control where there are issues of public health safety.”

Fairlie said while some gull numbers have collapsed in their natural habitats, they have grown in urban areas.

“I’m not dismissing the point that Douglas Ross makes,” he added. “I absolutely get the fact that urban gulls are a problem – but killing them and giving licences out willy-nilly is not the answer.”

Ross described the minister’s response as “completely tone deaf”.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell accused the Tories of “declaring a war on wildlife”.

He told Parliament: “It’s seagulls this week, it will be white-tailed eagles next week, and it will be beavers after that.”