Lookout! It's The Birds in Britain.

I originally saw the article on MSN this morning, but why hasn't anyone from the UK brought this up?

Aggressive Seagulls Menacing Urban Britain

It sounds funny, and we all know that seagulls are aggressive animals. Who hasn't seen them harassing seabird nesting colonies? But it seems they're getting downright vicious, even dangerous across the pond.

An 80-year-old Welshman had a fatal heart attack after being swooped on by the birds. In southwest England, a woman was rushed to the hospital with deep beak wounds to her head, and a pet dog was pecked to death. A preschool in Scotland had to hire falconers armed with hawks to safeguard its children.

That's serious stuff when you have to hire people to chase the gulls off the kids.

You've gone from:



to



in a hurry when experst start worrying the aggressive birds could pick off a toddler next.

The aggressive birds have been on a killing spree in the scenic Cornwall area, recently pecking a dog and a tortoise to death. Even an aging pensioner was knocked over and left bloodied by a dive-bombing bird, the Telegraph reports.

Experts are now concerned that the problem will only get worse, calling for individuals to not leave their babies unattended as images of small rodents and even other fowl being devoured whole by ravenous gulls spread on social media.

Maybe it's time to start culling the flock?

a reply to: ketsuko

Lol

MINE

originally posted by: ketsuko
I originally saw the article on MSN this morning, but why hasn't anyone from the UK brought this up?

I didn't bring it up because it is kind of normal where I live, they are a pest.
We often talk about how ridiculous it is that they are a protected species in the UK, seeing as there are so many and they are a problem.
Stupid tourists contribute to the problem big time by feeding them. They lose their fear of us.

...some of the more bolder of the local flocks do 'disappear' when they become a particular pain though.
I have no idea what happens to them of course.

a reply to: grainofsand

Hence my suggestion at the bottom.

If you are going to let them get to the point where you are afraid they're going to go after your kids, maybe it's time to start going after them. Teach them fear people again.

I'm one to advocate for the slaughter of animals, but they can get out of control.

Seagulls are a part of the British sea side experience, maybe if people didn't leave their crap everywhere the seagulls would leave them alone

It's starting. Mother Nature is going to target humans and anything they are allied with.

They're gonna peck out your eyes!!!!!

a reply to: ketsuko

I've never been afraid of seagulls going for my child, and I've always lived at the coast.
The newspaper stories were dramatic and rare, think coyotes in the US or any other potentially dangerous animal.
Seagull injuries are rare and this is a non-story as far as I see it, unless ATS is turning into a tabloid newspaper or something.

I do agree that a cull could be useful in my local area, but for other issues though, such as bin bags being ripped open, too much seagull poo around the place, and they make any roof maintenance work a nightmare in the Spring.

a reply to: ketsuko

There was a thread about Australian seagulls mysteriously swooping on people just a few months ago.

I've personally never experienced it. I've had plenty of other breeds of birds swoop on me, but never seagulls.... Crazy stuff!

Aside from one being rabid, there's never been an instance of coyotes. Now the press worries all the time about our small dogs and cats.

It's the cougars the press has vapors about ... and they should.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

I've been dive bombed by blue jays before. They get twitchy when you get too close to their nest. And we had a cat who had a permanent bald spot on her shoulder from jays.

Gulls can be vicious and brazen if they decide to, and then when you have a situation where they're acclimated to people and you have too many, you're set up for trouble just like you would be with any other animal.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

It's not a new thing to me.
Had my first ice-cream stolen off me on a beach in South Wales aged about 8, and I had a sausage stolen off my full English breakfast in May when we had some sunny weather.
They are fast, and impressively so.
I actually have a lot of love for gulls, and I miss their sound in the Winter.

Thieving bastards though!
...in this thread the drama is strong.

*Edit*
The most humane method would be destruction of nests/eggs, but as I said earlier they are a protected species so it would require new legislation. I would support controlled destruction of eggs for a trial season or two.
Most folk where I am feel the same.

I never gave it a second thought, like grainofsand said, it's quite the norm.....I mean just last week a friend posted this on Facebook:



The problem is places like McDonalds and people throwing their waste all over the place, it's attracting them further inland..

Every morning the little buggers wake me up squawking.....can't even take a shotgun / air rifle to them as they are protected.

They say birds are the descendants of dinosaurs, I would love to know what evil little prehistoric critter spawned those damn things!

Just mix some bicarb of soda with some bread and watch them literraly explode as they have no way of allowing the gas to escape thus they literally blow up

I would just like to point out the fact that there is no such thing as a seagull.

They are gulls. Herring gulls, black backed gulls, black headed gulls etc.

NOT SEAGULLS!

Rant over carry on.

Bit mean to start culling them when it's mainly our own fault though isn't it?

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity, the loss of cliff-top breeding sites to coastal development and depleted fish stocks at sea are propelling the inland migration.

(From link in the OP)

a reply to: woogleuk

Hahaha!! Nice one for sharing that!
It is normal here, and we all laugh at the incidents, bastards lol, but I wouldn't want to be killing them, i'm more of an egg destruction man when it comes to controlling seagull populations.
Much more humane, and I do like them because they are just surviving and doing their thing.

...and they are very good at doing their thing. I have much admiration sometimes, it is impressive, but I have no problem with destroying eggs which could grow into gulls who are good at their trade chasing human food.

a reply to: grainofsand

I remember back in 2003, I was working at a local computer store opposite the old Co-op....there must have been a nest on the roof or something as everyone who walked down that pavement got dive bombed.....the funniest incident was when one swiped a policemans hat straight off his head, it was one of the flat caps, not the "nipple" hats....oh we howled.

I love animals of all shapes and sizes, but those things are just pure evil, when God created the Earth (if you believe in those sorts of things), he turned round to Satan and said "oh, go on then, I'll let you create something" and lo the Gull was born.

a reply to: woogleuk

Haha behave!
If gulls are the Devils bird then why are 10 or 20 of them #scared of one or two crows then?
I've seen many a massive gull back off scared from a raggedy arsed crow.
A family of crows run my local beach in the avian world and they are well outnumbered.
...just hard as nails and clever.

a reply to: grainofsand

Because the humble crow had an awesome film named after it......don't see too many Gull related action packed movies!

My dad works at Tata steel (formerly British steel) down on the docks, he must wash his silver Toyota every few days and by the time he has finished work it is silver with white patches all over, we're talking serious Gull constipation relief....he would argue the toss with you about what wonderful creatures they are.

ETA: Don't think we have a problem GoS? Take another look.....

Council Fears Gulls Are ISIS Trained

A worried council has recently expressed fears that the Whitby Gull Population is being ISIS trained in the middle east.

In a Real Whitby Interview, Councillor Reggie Fullerlove of Love Lane, Whitby claims “The Seagull Crises is getting worse by the minute, they are stealing our jobs, marrying our wives and now even eating our children”.

Fellow councillor Earnest Backslash said – This has now gone to Government level, even David Cameron has made comment after the gulls made national news last week after eating a families pet dog.

Backslash added – “Some of these birds are now Isis trained in Syria and Iraq before flying home to reek havoc in our neighbourhood. This one in my photograph (Below) is just finishing off a small child it kidnapped from the swing-bridge, having already eaten both parents leaving no trace of their existence. Gone are the days when they just stole one of Christine’s infamous sausage sandwiches off the odd tourist. Now they are eating people, and its just all gone too far. I daren’t even go out to empty me bin these days”