Nairn man (74) calls for action on seagull reduction after being attacked on town’s High Street
A 74-year-old man who was attacked by a seagull in Nairn last week is calling for urgent action to control the number of birds ahead of the tourist season.
Gordon Ashley, a Nairn resident, was walking on the High Street towards St Ninian’s Church, enjoying an ice cream with his daughter last week, when a large seagull swooped low above them.
He said: “We ducked away and continued along the road only for the seagull to launch a second attack as we neared the hairdressers. We ducked beside the shop fronts and evaded the attack.
“As we moved further up the road to St Ninian’s Church the roadway widens at Academy Square. A car stopped at the Zebra crossing to allow us to cross in safety.
“As we crossed the road the seagull swooped lower this time and caught us both off guard. My daughter crouched beside the memorial as I stumbled over the kerbstone and fell heavily to my knees. My ice cream cone landed three feet away, much to the delight of the seagull.”
Mr Ashley said he had badly grazed his knees and hands as a result.
“I am 74 years of age and consider myself to be fairly fit and agile for my age,” he said.
“I am left nursing minor wounds, but angry that a pleasant walk along Nairn High Street on a sunny spring afternoon should end so abruptly.”
He raised concerns that the “invasion of seagulls” may create more serious issues as the tourist season approaches and
“It is not yet summer, the streets are not full of visitors, children are not yet laughing and giggling as they enjoy our town for their holidays.
“In a few weeks time our businesses will be hoping for a bumper few months over the summer period.”
Concerns were raised since last summer as Inverness-headquartered government agency NatureScot introduced new guidance for seagull egg removal, which has seen a significant drop in the number of licenses allowed to remove the eggs from the rooftops before they hatch.
Nairn BID manager, Lucy Harding said that with the new rules, they are already seeing a rise in the number of seagulls sitting on the town centre’s roofs.
“The gull problem is Nairn has been around for years and since Nairn BID has had a position in the town from 2018, we have worked hard to manage the population,” she said.
“Before the new NatureScot rules, we were slowly making progress by adopting a year-on-year gull management programme. It was a lengthy and time-consuming process, but we did feel that each year, by removing nests and eggs, we were very slowly helping to reduce, the gull population.”
She said that one of the measures that NatureScot suggested as an alternative was to install seagull scarers.
“The seagulls don’t pay a blind bit of notice to them, and we have actually had to remove a couple of them or reposition them as they are reflecting light into people’s properties,” she explained.
“The gentleman who was attacked also contacted ourselves and we are very sorry that he faced this ordeal. Sadly, this is not new. There are children at the local primary schools who for years have not been able to eat their playtime snacks outside.
“We are trying out best for our members, residents and visitors to the town, but we are getting nowhere.
“NatureScot have basically decided to reinterpret the legislation without that being changed.
“One thing they have asked is whether we can prove that the birds nesting on a particular roof are the ones responsible for people’s injuries. How is that possible?”
Responding, a spokesperson for NatureScot said: “We understand that gulls can sometimes cause problems in our towns and cities. Where gulls are causing a risk to public health and safety, we aim to respond swiftly to support targeted and effective solutions. This can include issuing same-day licences in cases where elderly or vulnerable people face risks to their health or safety. We are also developing area-based licences to tackle health and safety concerns in specific areas, with a particular focus on where vulnerable people are affected.
“The evidence is clear that gull populations are facing significant and serious declines. NatureScot has a duty to balance the conservation and protection of species with public interests such as safeguarding people from health and safety risks. An area-based licence with local authorities will allow us to better manage and reduce any impacts on gull conservation, compared to the cumulative effects of individual applications.
“In the longer-term, we need to find ways to live with gulls and other wildlife. We will be working closely with local authorities to develop long-term coordinated and collaborative plans with a focus on preventative measures, deterrents, changes to behaviour and guidance for local authority staff, business owners and the public. Licensed control can be part of this mix when there is a risk to public health and safety, but to work long-term it must be backed with other measures.”
They added that, despite popular perceptions, seagull populations are not booming. They pointed to the latest Seabirds Count census, published in November 2023, and the latest Scottish Biodiversity Indicator for Seabirds. These, they said, showed that all five species of gull that breed in Scotland continue to decline, with numbers down by between 44 per cent and 75 per cent depending on species.
Common gull, great black-backed gull and herring gull are now all red-listed species of Conservation Concern in the UK, while lesser black-backed gull and black-headed gull are amber listed. The declines are attributed to factors such as changes in food availability and land use, with some species also suffering losses because of recent devastating outbreaks of avian flu.
