CALLS have been made for Fife Council to treat seagulls in the same way as other pests such as rats, mice and wasps.

Councillors have admitted that something must be done about the flying menace – but only if private contractors could not meet the demand.

Complaints about aggressive gull attacks and associated problems such as bird droppings and nesting materials blocking drains and gutters continue to be received each year but few options are available to councils apart from education and awareness campaigns.

Last week, the Press reported on neighbours in Dunfermline's Fernie Place who said the noisy and aggressive birds had caused problems for the past two years and were desperate for the council to help them before nesting season.

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay councillor David Barratt said people had been hospitalised due to injuries inflicted by swooping seagulls and added: “I would love to see the council offer a service to remove nests and eggs in the same way as we do for mice for £75 and for wasps for £72.  

“I know there would be an element of training and upskilling for staff and relevant licences would have to be applied for but I don’t think it would be too difficult.”

Any such provision, he argued, could be along the lines of the council’s existing pest control service which gives advice about and treats pests such as rats, mice, wasps and bees at a cost to those requesting it.

At the environment and protective services sub-committee, Kirstie Freeman, safer communities manager, said the idea had been looked at but suggested staffing levels would not make it possible.

“The resourcing would certainly be an issue in terms of manpower,” she noted.

But committee convener Councillor Ross Vettraino said the gull problems were only going to get worse and argued it could provide another commercial revenue stream for the council.

“We need to do something about this and if the private sector cannot meet the demand for control of these pests then I do feel the council should be in a position to do something about it,” he commented.

“I hope our officers will look closely at the situation and if the private sector cannot satisfy the demand for control then the council is in a position to do something about it.

“That’s why we have a pest control service – to not only meet the council’s duties but to ensure the communities we serve get the kind of pest control they need when they need it.”

Cllr Barratt also praised the Inverkeithing Gull Initiative, launched in 2020, which has seen an 86 per cent reduction in nests resulting in chicks.

A community-led project, around 60 per cent of the 200 households in the town’s Boreland estate, agreed to pay £30 a year into a fund to pay a private contractor to remove nests and eggs throughout the breeding season.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull, damage, or destroy an active nest or its contents.

It is also illegal to prevent birds from accessing their nests.

A report to the committee by John Mills, head of housing, pointed to evidence from across Scotland that said none of the initiatives had been successful over a sustained period, with the cost of projects such as nest and egg removal, dummy eggs, culling and seagull-proofing roofs deemed excessive in comparison to any positive outcomes.

He added: “Given that the local authority has no statutory responsibility to deal with this matter, research presents limited evidence of success in controlling gull behaviour and nuisance, and the programme of prevention continues to offer the most likely opportunity to reduce the impact of gull nuisance across Fife.”