The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: bright rabbit 1 on July 23, 2019, 12:23:54 AM
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Should Gulls be Culled?
On the news today here in the U.K a Seagull snatched a chihuahua from a garden and took it away.
Let’s face it Gulls are a menace to the society, they take food from people, Attack them or snatch small animals.
Do you think they should be culled.
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did it really!? I didn't even think seagulls had grabby-enough feet to carry off a poor little dog!
The poor little chihuahua :(
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Wow, never heard of a seagull taking a dog before.
Humans are the ones who encroach upon other species... so no, I don't think any animal should be culled like that. Unless it's invasive maybe (are they where you are?).
I mean, I live in a place where dangerous animals kill pets and people all the time, and everyone just veiws it as one of the hazards of living here. Sure, if an alligator is roaming a neighborhood they remove them but they only kill them if they're over a certain size. And it's only because when they reach maturity they have a homing instinct and relocated gators just end up coming back to where they were. When they're small/young enough they are just taken somewhere wild and released.
A few years ago our neighbor's little yorkie disappeared. We all kinda figured it was either a bobcat or a bird of some kind. It was sad of course and I wouldn't want it to happen to another pet, but all the other animal saw was an easy meal and I can't blame them for that.
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Oh yes that makes perfect sense *sarcasm*. Humans have made gulls a nuisance by feeding them and discarding food in the streets that encourages them to hang around urban areas, so let's blame the gulls and kill them, that'll solve the problem /sarcasm.
I know sometimes various species have to be culled because their numbers affect other species, and I accept that, but I think with seagulls it's a knee-jerk reaction because they're not 'cute' and they're a nuisance. I find a lot of people a nuisance but sadly it doesn't give me the right to cull them. There are plenty of other solutions that could be implemented before a cull is needed: humans tidying up their rubbish and refraining from throwing chips at seagulls would probably be a good start. I think I've read somewhere that it's possible to encourage gulls to different nesting sites? The stolen dog is an isolated incident, and hardly part of a widespread phenomenon.
Sorry to be so vehement, and of course I'm not directing my ire at any specific person; it's just that the cavalier behaviour of humans where animals are concerned always makes my blood boil! Surely there are ways for humans and animals to co-exist.
We don't live by the sea, but we get gulls in summer anyway. They have been known to steal cat-food. Solution: feed the cats indoors = immediate reduction of seagulls in the garden. I was once asked if I was worried about seagulls carrying off my cat. Seriously?! Garfy is quite frankly a chubster cat, you'd need four seagulls and some sort of net to carry him off :lol:.
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no I don't think they should be culled as much I don't really like them its so rare I don't think it warrants it plus when the dog is the size of a rat there are lots of things that could take them not just gulls and birds of pray ,foxes and badgers could to or worse dog fighting rings will dog nap small dogs to use as bait dogs :(
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Here’s the news about the dog
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9561614/chihuahua-swallowed-whole-seagull-expert/
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Eh?
is that even being something suggested by any authority? Because that's sounds like a pretty nonsense thing to suggest over one dog.
Also, I find it more disturbing that the person was harassed by trolls after posting on social media.
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Plus they’ve (the Gulls) have attacked little children, plus a woman got attacked sitting in her car. They tried to take another small dog but the owner saved their dog. They steal food out of people’s mouths plus damage someone’s mouth. Plus they kill rabbits and one killed a fox cub.
And a weird one stealing false teeth from a old person.
I tell you one thing if a gull tried to steal my do, I’ll stab it with a pointed thing.
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Oh if anything, seagull or otherwise, came for my rabbit I'd definitely go HAM with every pointed thing in existence! But culling anything just doesn't right with the animal lover in me... maybe just that one seagull needs a stern pointing rather than the species as a whole.
two things to note though that affect my bias here: my rabbit is way to big to be carried off by anything, and i live right near a beach and am never bothered by seagulls at all. magpies own my suburb and no one dares challenge them!
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Magpies are cute, did have a few here but something frightened them off.
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Seagulls are a dangerous nuicense here; not only are they massive, they are vicious and pushy. They are part urban, part sea, and the more inland the gulls, the more violent they seem to be. Buildings in the city have them nesting on the roof and customers can be attacked and swooped by parents when they stray near fledglings taking their shopping to the car!
I adore birds, I even have a soft spot for pigeons despite their disease-carrying ways, but pigeons don't outright attack people and knock food out of your hands. I despise seagulls with a passion, they absolutely should be culled as pigeons were culled a while ago with dummy eggs and trapping.
Edit: This isn't a hysterical reaction over one dog; culling gulls has been brought up multiple times, and MANY seaside resorts have notices telling people not to feed them and warning about how dangerous they can get. All birds in the UK are protected either by the Countryside Wildlife Act 1981 or a similar act (In Scotland, it's a different act). You have to have a special license to cull vermin birds like pigeons and gulls. I fully support a gull cull.
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I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE Seagulls..... they are nasty ******** :P Had one bite my finger & sandwich once literally sandwich was in my mouth i wasn't waving it around in my hand or left it on the table.
Can not stand them they are vicious nasty scavenger creatures. Something needs to be done about them tbh there are too many (watch Hitchcocks 'Birds' that will freak you out enough to want them sorted :lol: ) Don't know about Culling but something HAS to be done about them.... there are way too many. Even if you put things in the bins with lids down etc they will still try get it.
Pigeons are everywhere too but they are not nasty********** are they!! They might beg at your feet but they will not harm you and bite ur fingers off to get what you have. They will not hurt children or take small dogs.
Sorry but I really really really HATEEEEEEEEEEEE Seagulls (I live like 30mins from the sea too, love Brighton but the seagulls bloody ruin it every time!.... and now the buggers are coming in land to the school play grounds and keeping me up until 3am with their squawking)
Yes society needs to do their bit and not leave there rubbish on the ground (which tbh it's better now than it was years ago).... .... but trust me that WILL NOT stop Seagulls .... as I said they will go for it straight out of your hand, wouldn't surprise me if they start attacking a full size human in groups eventually. They are lazy buggers who cba to fish anymore (trust me there are plenty of fish for them in the sea in Brighton)
Something NEEDS to be done about them. Maybe there is another way than culling though...
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What the hell, no? Yikes @ this thread.
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Think with this Thread if you do not live in the UK you just are not going to understand the problem :lol:
Trust me it is a SERIOUS problem here in the UK. (not just the Seaside either... as I said in my post they have come in land too).
They often attack Children.... seen way too many attack a poor kid in Brighton who is just trying to enjoy their ice cream.
They are vicious creatures who don't give a crap..... Only birds who do this in the UK too.... Pigeons (who we probably have more of then seagulls) do not!
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I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE Seagulls..... they are nasty ******** :P Had one bite my finger & sandwich once literally sandwich was in my mouth i wasn't waving it around in my hand or left it on the table.
Can not stand them they are vicious nasty scavenger creatures. Something needs to be done about them tbh there are too many (watch Hitchcocks 'Birds' that will freak you out enough to want them sorted :lol: ) Don't know about Culling but something HAS to be done about them.... there are way too many. Even if you put things in the bins with lids down etc they will still try get it.
Pigeons are everywhere too but they are not nasty********** are they!! They might beg at your feet but they will not harm you and bite ur fingers off to get what you have. They will not hurt children or take small dogs.
Sorry but I really really really HATEEEEEEEEEEEE Seagulls (I live like 30mins from the sea too, love Brighton but the seagulls bloody ruin it every time!.... and now the buggers are coming in land to the school play grounds and keeping me up until 3am with their squawking)
Yes society needs to do their bit and not leave there rubbish on the ground (which tbh it's better now than it was years ago).... .... but trust me that WILL NOT stop Seagulls .... as I said they will go for it straight out of your hand, wouldn't surprise me if they start attacking a full size human in groups eventually. They are lazy buggers who cba to fish anymore (trust me there are plenty of fish for them in the sea in Brighton)
Something NEEDS to be done about them. Maybe there is another way than culling though...
If we cannot cull, then perhaps do what I've seen happen with pigeons in I THINK London? It was a 'pigeon hotel' set up for breeding pigeons. A person would go inside and remove eggs from the nests, replace them with dummy eggs, which the parents would still care for and leave when they wouldn't have as they are assumed as either dead or infertile. This is used for problem layers for domestic parrots as well; cockatiels in particular are problem layers and simply taking the eggs encourages the bird to lay another to replace the lost egg and could result in the death of the female if she uses up the calcium in her bones to make eggs or even become eggbound.
I'm glad you understand, I've lived in seaside towns most of my life and in the city they are a vicious nuicense. When I went abroad to a city that was nowhere near the sea, it was so relaxing and peaceful to have absolutely no seagulls! (just pigeons that were skittish and starlings/sparrows!)
EDIT:
Think with this Thread if you do not live in the UK you just are not going to understand the problem :lol:
Trust me it is a SERIOUS problem here in the UK. (not just the Seaside either... as I said in my post they have come in land too).
They often attack Children.... seen way too many attack a poor kid in Brighton who is just trying to enjoy their ice cream.
They are vicious creatures who don't give a crap..... Only birds who do this in the UK too.... Pigeons (who we probably have more of then seagulls) do not!
THIS!!!! :iconclap:
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If anyone has seen Alfred Hitchcocks 'The Birds'...... Seagulls are pretty much basically doing what those ones do... atm just to steal food & attack small animals & children but would not surprise me if they start going after full grown adults...
Post Merge: July 23, 2019, 04:58:34 AM
I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE Seagulls..... they are nasty ******** :P Had one bite my finger & sandwich once literally sandwich was in my mouth i wasn't waving it around in my hand or left it on the table.
Can not stand them they are vicious nasty scavenger creatures. Something needs to be done about them tbh there are too many (watch Hitchcocks 'Birds' that will freak you out enough to want them sorted :lol: ) Don't know about Culling but something HAS to be done about them.... there are way too many. Even if you put things in the bins with lids down etc they will still try get it.
Pigeons are everywhere too but they are not nasty********** are they!! They might beg at your feet but they will not harm you and bite ur fingers off to get what you have. They will not hurt children or take small dogs.
Sorry but I really really really HATEEEEEEEEEEEE Seagulls (I live like 30mins from the sea too, love Brighton but the seagulls bloody ruin it every time!.... and now the buggers are coming in land to the school play grounds and keeping me up until 3am with their squawking)
Yes society needs to do their bit and not leave there rubbish on the ground (which tbh it's better now than it was years ago).... .... but trust me that WILL NOT stop Seagulls .... as I said they will go for it straight out of your hand, wouldn't surprise me if they start attacking a full size human in groups eventually. They are lazy buggers who cba to fish anymore (trust me there are plenty of fish for them in the sea in Brighton)
Something NEEDS to be done about them. Maybe there is another way than culling though...
If we cannot cull, then perhaps do what I've seen happen with pigeons in I THINK London? It was a 'pigeon hotel' set up for breeding pigeons. A person would go inside and remove eggs from the nests, replace them with dummy eggs, which the parents would still care for and leave when they wouldn't have as they are assumed as either dead or infertile. This is used for problem layers for domestic parrots as well; cockatiels in particular are problem layers and simply taking the eggs encourages the bird to lay another to replace the lost egg and could result in the death of the female if she uses up the calcium in her bones to make eggs or even become eggbound.
I'm glad you understand, I've lived in seaside towns most of my life and in the city they are a vicious nuicense. When I went abroad to a city that was nowhere near the sea, it was so relaxing and peaceful to have absolutely no seagulls! (just pigeons that were skittish and starlings/sparrows!)
EDIT:
Think with this Thread if you do not live in the UK you just are not going to understand the problem :lol:
Trust me it is a SERIOUS problem here in the UK. (not just the Seaside either... as I said in my post they have come in land too).
They often attack Children.... seen way too many attack a poor kid in Brighton who is just trying to enjoy their ice cream.
They are vicious creatures who don't give a crap..... Only birds who do this in the UK too.... Pigeons (who we probably have more of then seagulls) do not!
THIS!!!! :iconclap:
Yeah maybe they could try that sounds better than culling.... hopefully soon (I don't think I even want to step foot in Brighton in August will be a nightmare with all the Seagulls)
Either way something has to be done.... unfortunately the only way they will do something quickly is if a Kid is badly attacked or killed by them (which surprised it hasn't happened yet tbh)
Yeah it's nice when you go away from the Seaside and there are not as many Seagulls (there will still be the odd pair though). Pigeons are usually everywhere (just hate when pigeons fly off in a huge group near you or too near my face haha otherwise they don't bother me), Kids like pigeons too as they are not scary and won't attack them.
Only 2 animals/creatures I really hate .... Seagulls & Wasps (well and Hornets), and they both are nasty buggers lol... Mosquito's too i guess but not such a problem in the UK
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As much as I dislike the destruction of any animal if it isn’t for food purposes, I have to say yes, Unless there is another way to deal with the population of gulls in a way that doesn’t involve a...direct approach. I’m cool with gulls personally, but I have seen gulls take things from children (one landed on my table and stone my chips the first day I was in Australia visiting.) and act a bit mean. But never cause physical harm to a human, just annoy greatly. Really, if it’s hurting the ecosystem because to population is too large or they pose a genuine threat outside of this incident, then yes something should be done. But if the gulls are more of an annoyance and don’t pose a threat to humans or their companions, let them be. We are the ones who provide food and have obviously encroached upon their habitats.
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No. We move everywhere we possibly can, we encroach and destroy and toss our crap everywhere and we think that other "pest" animals should be destroyed, while our own numbers go unchecked. We're the biggest pest of all.
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It sounds like the gulls are very intense, around here we do not have not so many gulls but up north you might have a similar experience. I have to say it's really disappointing to hear people wanting to kill birds when the problem is not the birds but the humans. We kill off their natural predetors, we encourage bad behaviors with food, we over populate and push animals further and further to the edge or end up with them in our backyards. Going around and simply killing the birds is a bandaid, I see it's allure with how easy it would be to execute compared to restructuring our entire society
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No.
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No. We move everywhere we possibly can, we encroach and destroy and toss our crap everywhere and we think that other "pest" animals should be destroyed, while our own numbers go unchecked. We're the biggest pest of all.
THIS. :worshippy:
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I understand the frustration with Seagulls. I live in Utah, where the Seagull (specifically the California Gull) is the State Bird. They're everywhere and they can be a real nuisance.
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"I went to the seashore and was mad there were seagulls." Then don't go to the seashore.
BTW I also grew up somewhere with tons of California gulls. Yeah, they are noisy a-holes. They will 100% steal your sandwich if they think they can. But they are not "dangerous", they aren't going to peck your eyes out.
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Now they’re going after kittens
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cat-owners-warning-after-seagull-18668380
What’s next a baby?
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Now they’re going after kittens
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cat-owners-warning-after-seagull-18668380
What’s next a baby?
Kittens/cats shouldn't be outside or they risk getting eaten by a preditor. Any pet owner is ignorant not to know that.
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Now they’re going after kittens
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cat-owners-warning-after-seagull-18668380
What’s next a baby?
Kittens/cats shouldn't be outside or they risk getting eaten by a preditor. Any pet owner is ignorant not to know that.
If Dusty (my Nan and Grandad’s cat before he came to live with my family) was still alive he would of killed a gull.
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bright rabbit it really seems you want the gulls to be killed, I wonder why you started this topic? Does hearing others opinions matter? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm genuinely curious why you asked.
It is natural for birds to hunt and kill small mammals and rodents. If you leave a beloved animal outside then you should not be surprised when nature takes course. It is not safe to put pets outside for a lot of reasons.
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No. We move everywhere we possibly can, we encroach and destroy and toss our crap everywhere and we think that other "pest" animals should be destroyed, while our own numbers go unchecked. We're the biggest pest of all.
THIS. JUST... THIS.
Where I live, there are bears, bobcats, badgers, foxes, coyotes, wolves, and more. All of those species will attack pets, and possibly even careless humans. That does not give us any right to massacre them for our own convenience. THEY WERE HERE FIRST. They are not the invasive species... we are. Sadly, so are our pets and farm animals.
I have a dozen pet chickens, myself. There are aggressive hawks all over the place here that would happily carry them off. Solution: I made a big, safe, fenced in yard for my chickens, complete with wire over the top to protect them from aerial predators. I did NOT just try to kill off every hawk in the state of Michigan, simply because they’re a nuisance to me.
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bright rabbit it really seems you want the gulls to be killed, I wonder why you started this topic? Does hearing others opinions matter? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm genuinely curious why you asked.
It is natural for birds to hunt and kill small mammals and rodents. If you leave a beloved animal outside then you should not be surprised when nature takes course. It is not safe to put pets outside for a lot of reasons.
It was on Good Morning Britain they were discussing whether or not Gulls should be culled.
I vanted to see what others think whether or not they should be killed. I or one vant the black head Gulls killed as well as the common ones and great black back Gulls. Rare ones I don’t want killed. (Sorry I put the ws as vs I’ve been watching too much One Piece)
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bright rabbit it really seems you want the gulls to be killed, I wonder why you started this topic? Does hearing others opinions matter? I'm not trying to be rude, I'm genuinely curious why you asked.
It is natural for birds to hunt and kill small mammals and rodents. If you leave a beloved animal outside then you should not be surprised when nature takes course. It is not safe to put pets outside for a lot of reasons.
It was on Good Morning Britain they were discussing whether or not Gulls should be culled.
I vanted to see what others think whether or not they should be killed. I or one vant the black head Gulls killed as well as the common ones and great black back Gulls. Rare ones I don’t want killed. (Sorry I put the ws as vs I’ve been watching too much One Piece)
The fact that you’re talking like a character from a cartoon for no apparent reason while you discuss this... doesn’t really instill me with confidence that you understand the implications and seriousness of what you’re suggesting. :/
We’re talking about whether or not LIVES should be taken for the sake of making life easier for humans and their pets. As a pet owner, I’m very sorry for the loss of the chihuahua and cats... But the owners should have taken better precautions (dog on a leash, cats in house, etc.). Nature is not always friendly or fair. Predators kill smaller animals. No amount of human interference will “fix” this aspect of nature. That is something that humans, the biggest megalomaniac control freaks in the history of the planet, need to learn to accept.
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It is natural for birds to hunt and kill small mammals and rodents. If you leave a beloved animal outside then you should not be surprised when nature takes course. It is not safe to put pets outside for a lot of reasons.
^ Yeah, this. The world is a dangerous place for a small pet, but you can't empty out the world. You can't get mad at wild animals for acting like animals do.
Here is my seagull story. I lived in an apartment building that was slightly taller than the apartment building next door, so I had a view of their flat rooftop. A pair of seagulls decided to raise their baby on the roof. The couple fed their baby faithfully, preened each other, and rubbed their necks together. The baby got to be about as big as the parents (but easy to tell apart because he was dappled grey while they were lovely smooth white and grey).
How he learned to fly was this: he jumped up and down. It was a very comical sight. I stood on my balcony in the evenings watching him jumping in place, flapping, learning what the wind felt like under his wings. Sometimes he would sort of hover in place before landing unsteadily. Finally took his first flight, with his parents beside him, and he did a lap around the building like a pro. I'm so happy I got to see that. They stuck around a few more days and then the three of them flew away together.
If I saw them on a beach somewhere, I wouldn't be able to tell them from any other squawking seagulls. But that's okay, because all those other squawking seagulls also feel and love and learn and teach their children to fly. We usually don't see that part of their world but it exists. Their lives are worthy of respect.
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Nope, humans are the invasive species!
That said, Anyone feeding these gulls or leaving food available for them should be getting a serious fine, tourists included.
The seashore towns' top trash priority should be keeping their trash and rubbish away from the water, even if that is the sole job of a team of people who just ferry trash from the bins to a place that is animal proof. When I see gulls and trash bits all over, I think badly of the town, NOT the animals who are doing to best to survive us humans.
Dont even get me started on cats and the outdoors, just no no no no.
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Update on the dog (this is weird)
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9563143/gizmo-the-dog-owner-being-helped-by-psychic-to-find-chihuahua-snatched-by-seagull/
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I have 5 pet chickens. Hawks and other animals such as raccoons and foxes try to kill them every so often. I’ve lost quite a few to predators, but I don’t think we should cull every hawk or fox or whatever in my county. My chicks are prey animals, like most small animals, and sometimes unfortunately they get killed. All I can do is make sure that I watch them when they go outside to freerange and to make sure they coop is secure. I would not leave a small dog or cat outside, that is the owner’s fault if a wild animal hurts them.
Wild animals must hunt to survive. I don’t think we should cull a bunch of animals if they’re just acting how they’re supposed to and if they’re healthy.
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I have 5 pet chickens. Hawks and other animals such as raccoons and foxes try to kill them every so often. I’ve lost quite a few to predators, but I don’t think we should cull every hawk or fox or whatever in my county. My chicks are prey animals, like most small animals, and sometimes unfortunately they get killed. All I can do is make sure that I watch them when they go outside to freerange and to make sure they coop is secure. I would not leave a small dog or cat outside, that is the owner’s fault if a wild animal hurts them.
Wild animals must hunt to survive. I don’t think we should cull a bunch of animals if they’re just acting how they’re supposed to and if they’re healthy.
I agree we shouldn’t kill Hawks and foxes.
Hence why I said in a post on this page those three types of gull their numbers should go be turned down a bit, I.E cull the makes or remove that bit that makes them male.
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I see nothing wrong with culling them if they're becoming a pest. Culling isn't the same as eradicating which is what some people seem to be comparing it too. No different than using hunting to keep populations of deer, etc. in check. I live in a state where the doe population is excessive, to the point the Wildlife and Parks offers extra antlerless deer tags every hunting season.
We do have land gulls around here, but all they ever seem to do is fly around high overhead during the early fall. Instead the nuisance bird around this area is Canadian Geese, which are causing problems for cities (parks) and individuals that have ponds.
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I live in the UK - the idea that living in the UK makes it understandable to want gulls killed doesn't make sense to me.
So I grew up in an area with two large pond-lakes and I worked in a place for a long time with a river. Lots of gulls. Never attacked by one. Also lots of geese, swans, which people go hysterical about - never attacked by one.
I now live near a river. Lots of gulls (swans, etc too) - not been attacked by one.
I DO know that there are issues in the UK with gulls which have become brazen enough to snatch food from people's hands and they can be intimidating. That's not an exaggeration exactly, plus I think that living near water, the gulls I encounter are more 'normal' than the urbanised ones encouraged to scavenge by human carelessness.
I'm really disturbed we're discussing an article from a trash paper like the Sun, also.
But my real point is this. I've lived around gulls and other water birds all my life and I've seen humans do horrific things to them - run them over, set their dogs on them, chase them - kids are ALWAYS chasing pigeons, seagulls, etc and their parents think it's innocent and fine (imagine you were a tiny little bird and some thundering brat was chasing you around a park!) I've heard a lot of hysteria about them, but never ever been threatened or attacked by any kind of water bird.
However I have been attacked by a dog. I hate dogs, and people take them absolutely everywhere.
Dogs can kill people.
They can kill children.
Should we cull dogs?
If the dog had killed the gull, it wouldn't have made the news article. We live in an odd world when we put different value on the lives of creatures and survival because one is "darling pet" and the other "wild beastie."
As for fox hunting, the most disgusting tradition on the planet, don't even get me started.
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These gulls need to brexit.
(Too soon?)
These birds are going after you because they learned from you that food comes out of your pockets, hands... you even bring small prey with you and let it prance about. Ducks would do the same if they could.
Gulls aren't "viscious", they are the clever girl raptors from JP who learned to open the door.
It's sad what happened to the dog but what are you gonna do? Decimate them until they regard you as a danger and stop coming? Won't happen because people will keep on feeding the birds.
You need to fine these people with heavy sums to make it stop. Very heavy sums. You need gull patrol guards who enforce these punishments.
I am sure UK could come up with some nice uniforms for GGP (gull guard patrol).