Animal welfare is an essential element of urban gull control

Ahead of a summit meeting on urban gull issues convened by the Scottish Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie MSP, WAWC has published a short position paper highlighting the need to incorporate ethical principles into any planned control measures.

The meeting has been arranged in the wake of a number of complaints about gull behaviour, including reported attacks on humans. Calls for control, however, require to be set against a decline in the two primary urban nesting species, the Herring Gull Larus argentatus (red-listed) and the Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus (amber-listed) as a breeding species, as well as the need to protect the welfare of wild animals subject to human interventions.  Both species are protected and may not be disturbed whilst breeding nor killed unless under licence.

WAWC Chair, María Díez León, said: “ We felt that we would like to contribute a briefing for the gull summit, tabling the international consensus principles for ethical wildlife control as being highly relevant to the discussion ahead, and to take the opportunity to re-issue our paper on the ethical principles. WAWC will always stress the need to approach any wildlife control with welfare, as well as population conservation, in mind.”

Read the position paper here.