Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) reduce and (b) control the population of (i) gulls and (ii) black-backed gulls.

Gulls, like all wild birds, are protected by provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. There is however an established system of licensing to allow for the control or disturbance of certain wild birds, such as the herring gull or lesser black backed gull, for specific reasons, such as preserving public health and safety.

This licensing regime, administered by Natural England within England, provides an effective structure within which authorised persons (i.e. landowner or occupier) and local authorities can take appropriate action to tackle problems they are experiencing; it provides a range of methods that can be used to manage birds humanely and permits adult population control, nest clearance and egg control.

In addition to the licensing provisions, effective long-term management requires the elimination or reduction of readily accessible food and roosting/nesting sites. A co-ordinated approach to waste disposal by local authorities, businesses, residents and visitors will make a valuable contribution to relieving gull problems.