There are fears a sharp drop in gull management in Inverness has set the city back years.
People are getting injured and young seagulls’ bodies are “littering the streets” because too few eggs are being removed, according to councillors.
A report on Inverness’s Business Improvement District (BID) was circulated and discussed during a City of Inverness Committee meeting this week.
It featured an update on the management programme intended to control the number of gulls present in the city.
However, it was revealed these targets are not being met.
The program of gull egg removal and deterrence has been running for a number of years, but has recently hit a stumbling block.
What’s the hold-up?
In February, stricter controls on egg removal were introduced by NatureScot, the government agency in charge of licences.
The increased time to process applications as a result of this guidance has seen a sharp drop in egg and nest removal, which stands at just 10% of last year’s numbers.
Removal licences are granted up to every four weeks, and with the incubation for a gull egg as low as three weeks, more birds are reaching maturity and impacting the streets.
The report stated that only eight licenses for gull egg removal had been granted in 2024, despite over 90 applications being submitted.
Councillor Alasdair Christie called the reduction in egg removal from previous years “an abysmal performance”.
‘This has put us back years’
Councillors spoke about their experiences with gulls in the city centre, and highlighted particular areas for concern.
Councillor Isabelle MacKenzie said: “I’ve had reports of residents being divebombed, I myself have been divebombed.
“I’ve had a resident who had to go to A&E to have stitches. This is not a laughing matter.
“They are finding it intolerable.”
She added: “I’m seeing a huge number of baby gulls being hit in the streets… there are carcasses littering [The Longman area].”
Councillor Dunan Mcdonald asked if funds left behind from the lack of action could be reallocated elsewhere.
He said: “I’m looking in particular to sports areas like the hockey pitch over at [Bught Lane], which has been devastated.
“It’s closed now because of the mess from the seagull droppings.”
Committee Chair Ian Brown said: “This has put us back years as far as I’m concerned.”
What could be done?
Councillors raised several solutions, including new styles of bins stopping the gulls ability to access it.
Councillor David Gregg said: “The gulls are absolutely appalling.”
He asked the council to consider investing in seagull-free bins to prevent litter from spilling into the streets.
Councillor Duncan Macpherson said: “I think we need to be investing in bins that are gull and crow proof, so that people are putting their deposits in the bin and its working properly.”
He suggested a bin with an electronic foot pedal mechanism, remaining shut to curious birds when not in use.
Councillors then asked if a representative from NatureScot could speak to the council regarding the issue in a future meeting.
In response to previous concerns, NatureScot has said licence applications where health and safety was an issue were dealt with first.
They confirmed processing can take up to 28 days, but said it didn’t usually take that long.
They added: “In the case mentioned, we spoke to the woman concerned and issued the licence within a day of the application being made.
More on gulls in Inverness
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