The Clown of Pevensey Bay
Well-known member
BISCUITS SACRIFICED TO CULL SEAGULL POPULATION
By Nick Foley, PA
Councillors have become so fed-up with the growing seagull population in their
city that they are giving up biscuits and spending the money on tackling the
problem, it emerged today.
Bristol City Council is hoping to save #25,000 from its annual budget by
sacrificing the snacks from all its meetings and hearings.
The money will be spent instead on dipping seagull eggs in oil so they do not
hatch.
More than 2,000 pairs of the birds are believed to be living in the city
centre, and the population is rising by an estimated 17% a year.
The population explosion, which has been blamed on fast food litter which the
birds feast on, has led to a flood of complaints from residents.
The gulls are notoriously noisy - particularly during the mating season - and
produce large quantities of excrement.
There have also been reports of seagulls dive-bombing people after the chicks
hatch to protect their territory.
Steve Comer, deputy council leader of the Liberal Democrat-run council, looked
into the problem and found the authority's options were extremely limited.
He was told shooting the birds was considered too dangerous, while gulls
simply laid more eggs if they were smashed.
But last year a trial found that dipping the eggs in a mineral oil, which made
them sterile, was highly effective.
But faced with a #30,000 bill to roll out the programme across the city, Mr
Comer had to find a way of saving money and found one from an unlikely source.
"I was looking into catering costs and one of things that came up was the
money we spent on biscuits, which was quite a considerable amount.
"At the same time a colleague was looking into a trial involving dipping
seagull eggs in oil, which appeared to be a medium to long-term solution to the
problem.
"The cost of the scheme was around #30,000 and I said 'I think I've found
#25,000' - by axing the biscuits.
"I sent out details of the cuts on the internal website and most of the
responses have been positive, although a lot of people are on holiday.
"It just seems like a luxury we can do without."
The Liberal Democrat councillor said his colleagues could still enjoy tucking
into Fairtrade cookies until the stock ran out, but warned no more would be
ordered.
He said the gull population could increase ten-fold over the next ten years if
left unchecked.
By Nick Foley, PA
Councillors have become so fed-up with the growing seagull population in their
city that they are giving up biscuits and spending the money on tackling the
problem, it emerged today.
Bristol City Council is hoping to save #25,000 from its annual budget by
sacrificing the snacks from all its meetings and hearings.
The money will be spent instead on dipping seagull eggs in oil so they do not
hatch.
More than 2,000 pairs of the birds are believed to be living in the city
centre, and the population is rising by an estimated 17% a year.
The population explosion, which has been blamed on fast food litter which the
birds feast on, has led to a flood of complaints from residents.
The gulls are notoriously noisy - particularly during the mating season - and
produce large quantities of excrement.
There have also been reports of seagulls dive-bombing people after the chicks
hatch to protect their territory.
Steve Comer, deputy council leader of the Liberal Democrat-run council, looked
into the problem and found the authority's options were extremely limited.
He was told shooting the birds was considered too dangerous, while gulls
simply laid more eggs if they were smashed.
But last year a trial found that dipping the eggs in a mineral oil, which made
them sterile, was highly effective.
But faced with a #30,000 bill to roll out the programme across the city, Mr
Comer had to find a way of saving money and found one from an unlikely source.
"I was looking into catering costs and one of things that came up was the
money we spent on biscuits, which was quite a considerable amount.
"At the same time a colleague was looking into a trial involving dipping
seagull eggs in oil, which appeared to be a medium to long-term solution to the
problem.
"The cost of the scheme was around #30,000 and I said 'I think I've found
#25,000' - by axing the biscuits.
"I sent out details of the cuts on the internal website and most of the
responses have been positive, although a lot of people are on holiday.
"It just seems like a luxury we can do without."
The Liberal Democrat councillor said his colleagues could still enjoy tucking
into Fairtrade cookies until the stock ran out, but warned no more would be
ordered.
He said the gull population could increase ten-fold over the next ten years if
left unchecked.
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