Are town's chiefs right to declare war on seagulls?

Don’t feed the birds! So said our front page on Thursday as a massive rise in seagull attacks on the Fylde coast pushed town hall chiefs to the brink of war with the pests.

Wyre Council wants to start handing out £100 fines to anyone caught leaving food for the gulls as attacks on humans are being reported every three days.

If enforced, feeding seagulls would be outlawed across Cleveleys, Thornton, Fleetwood and Knott End.

Here’s your views

People feeding seagulls profess to be bird lovers when even the RSPB advises against it. The birds gradually lose their ability to find food naturally if they are relying on humans for food. Seagulls have become increasingly aggressive in the last few years, attacking both humans and our pets and also damaging people’s homes.

Hesus

If humans weren’t such a dirty littering species, birds like seagulls and pigeons wouldn’t behave in this way. Add to that the sheer lack of bin size and council clean ups and there’s your answer, not the occasional child or adult that throws them a chip. What next? Shooting birds? Poisoning them? They have as much right to exist on this planet as any human.

Steven Macdonald

What about holiday makers? If they start dishing out fines to holidaymakers they will not come back, yes they are a pest but find another way, let’s face it they cannot fine all the dog walkers who do not pick up their poo, so how they going to manage to fine people that feed seagulls.

Oh My God

I live in Plymouth and they have banned people feeding the seagulls, it works because I can eat my food without watching where the birds are all the time! We used to constantly have food taken from our hands before the ban. Seagulls should be out to sea catching fish.

Denise Jones

We were in town yesterday when a seagull flew straight at a young woman’s face and grabbed the Greggs bag out of her hand as she was walking, eating a pizza slice out of it. It flew off with it before dropping it. She was terrified and it was frightening to see.

Nikki Hughes

These gulls should be culled.

Jackie 35

What a daft idea. These are birds with bird brains and if they are more hungry they will take more of a chance then if they were not. So is this a scheme to increase attacks.

tangerine pom

Gulls are attacking at this time of year because they have young to feed and protect! If one swoops down and pinches something out of your hand is the council going to class that as ‘feeding’ them and slap you with a fine?

Mrs Shazbat

Another council hair-brained scheme disguised to generate revenue. Cleveleys and Fleetwood, say goodbye to your tourists as they get fined and refuse to return. These birds have as much right to be on the planet as we do. I understand they can be menaces to food businesses especially but maybe feeding them reduces the theft of food on ones plate when dining alfresco.

Could there not be a managed feeding programme too? Just a thought.

Riccy Caunce

Seagull stole some food and knocked my little boy’s drink over in a flyby attack then proceeded to laugh at us with his cronies on the rooftops! What’s the world coming to? Made us jump out of our skins it did....cheeky little so ‘n so.

Tracy Ann Jones

The council ‘Fine Police’ will steer well clear of the ‘yobs’ who ignore these rules as they know they will ‘kick-off’ big time, because they do not respect law and order.

Charabang

Fine you for this, fine you for that. We are all controlled. It’s time this stopped.

Reasonable J

Blackpool Council....do the same for goodness sake.

Susie Gibson

I must start taking bread with me and dropping it along Preston New Road. Hopefully the gulls will do what the police can’t seem to be able to do.

Blackpoolsontheup

The funniest I’ve ever seen with a seagull... me and my sister went into town to do our shopping and there was a seagull sitting on top of a policeman’s car. It wouldn’t move or let him near his
car, so the policeman
had to throw his hat at it in the end. Really made me laugh.

Patricia Freeston

I totally agree, people should be fined. Guy two doors away from me is always feeding them and my kids’ garden toys are literally covered in seagull poo
24/7

Cold Truth