Gulls

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Roof nesting Herring gulls and Lesser Black Backed gulls are becoming a growing concern in many towns and cities throughout the UK. Food is readily available, there are no natural predators and very little disturbance.

Gulls are noisy, they cause nuisance with the large amount of excrement they produce, build nests in gutters resulting in blockages and can become aggressive towards people, especially when they have young chicks.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, culling of the gulls is only allowed by authorised personnel.

Unfortunately, the Council is not able to take any action, apart from advice, regarding nuisance caused by seagulls. Control by culling has proved unsuccessful in other areas because shortly after a cull the numbers have increased once again to the pre-cull position.

The gulls usually start to congregate during March/April time - this is the only time when they may be discouraged by means of disturbance. Once they have started to build nests it is almost impossible to move them on.

The other cause of action is to carry out bird proofing works to the building. Advice would have to be obtained from specialist proofing contractors and these works can be very expensive.

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Contact Details

Ipswich Borough Council,
Grafton House,
15-17 Russell Road,
Ipswich,
IP1 2DE

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01473 432000