Campaign to Tackle Gull Problem

Innovative as well as ambitious would describe the new community campaign which is aiming to tackle the gull problem in Bath. This is to be discussed by Bath & North East Somerset Council at its Cabinet meeting next week (February 10).

The Council plans to work alongside two universities on an 18-month research project into gull behaviour. Behavioural ecology and psychology students from the University of the West of England and Middlesex University will map and track the behaviour of the gulls as they interact with their food sources and nesting sites.

Alongside this, the Council has also earmarked £60,000 to trial a series of measures to deter the gull population from settling in the city. This includes free roof treatments, including the removal of nests to affected properties in designated areas where evidence confirms large, or increasing, numbers of breeding pairs.  This is part of the Council’s co-ordinated approach to the gull problem – which also includes reducing access to food sources, and communicating the importance of keeping the streets clear of litter and waste and not feeding the gulls. If agreed by Cabinet, this work will begin immediately.

Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “This research runs in parallel with our three-pronged approach to tackling the issue of gulls in the city. It is a mutually-beneficial research project that comes at no cost to the Council. There is very little existing research available on this subject and it will give us the opportunity to gather evidence at a scale that hasn’t been possible before, providing a clear steer on future intervention work.”

The team of students will be led by UWE Head of Psychology, Dr Chris Pawson. He said: “We’re interested in the interaction between the birds and their environment. We want to gather more knowledge of the lifecycle of these protected gulls. They are intelligent animals that can live for over 30 years, and they’re making complex decisions about where they nest – we need to understand more about this. There are some areas of Bath that gulls don’t go near, even though the food source potential is very much the same - we want to know why.”

Dr Pawson said the community will play an essential role in gathering data for this research project, and a ‘citizen science’ project involving local schools is planned. “We want local residents and schools engaged in this project; we need them to help us gather information about where gulls are eating and being fed, how they are behaving, such as if they are aggressive or noisy,” he said.

Schools interested in getting involved in the citizen science project are invited to contact Dr Pawson at [email protected]