Public must do more on waste amid seagull fight

East Ayrshire residents and businesses must do more to reduce waste that attracts seagulls, councillors have been told.

During their final meeting of 2024, elected members from East Ayrshire Council discussed ideas on how to deter gulls, including plans to retire the hawks that had been used to scare away the birds from council properties.

Chief Governance Officer David Mitchell outlined how the council plans to shift its focus from its own property to broader approaches such as gull-proof bins and a public awareness campaign.

He said: “We know that gulls are creatures of habit. They come where there’s a food source, and for as long as there’s a food source, they stay.

“So, the main thing is to try and get across that wider public message that if we leave food out, or throw litter on the ground or food waste on the ground, then the gulls will be attracted.

“They will come, and they will nest, and they will stay.”

He gave an example of one resident who was ‘out in their garden every morning at half past six, with large amounts of stale bread, feeding large amounts of bird’.

He said that this had resulted in an Anti-Social Behavior Order.

“What we really need to do is address those behaviours and understand that this is one of those areas where the council can only do so much.

“Gulls aren’t vermin and they are protected, and we have legislation that is very strict around what you can do, particularly during that nesting period.”

He explained that when the council brought in hawks, seagulls were not protected like other birds.

Mr Mitchell said: “The hawk contractor could fly the hawks to disperse the gulls.

“He could go out and deal with some nests at the beginning of the nesting season, and he could make some interaction, remove some nests, or even in some cases, some eggs.

“That was all in the past. The law’s been tightened up, and all species are equally protected.”

He said that it was important for the public to be aware of the limits of the council and why they should be taking their own steps to deter gulls.

Independent Kilmarnock Councillor Graeme Boyd said that there was a real danger to the public from gulls.

He added: “I am concerned that someone will get injured. And I don’t mean just to go skiffing the head.

“I mean, you’re crossing a road, a child or someone with mobility issues. You’re not watching the traffic, you’re watching that thing coming down at you.”

SNP Councillor Clare Maitland added: “As someone who quite literally lives in the flight path of these birds, it hits your person, it hits your car, it hits your washing, it hits your pets, it hits your children, it hits your windows.

“And it’s unhygienic and it’s disgusting quite frankly.

“This requires a cultural change because we’re feeding them, and our bins are feeding them.”

The report was agreed by members.

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