Should people in Suffolk be fined £80 for feeding seagulls?
Should people be fined for feeding gulls? - Credit: citizenside.com
A Harris hawk and kestrel have been brought in to frighten them away in Lowestoft.
But East Devon District Council has gone one step further by banning the feeding of seagulls on or near the town’s beaches.
People face £80 fines or even a court appearance if they are caught feeding the birds as an attempt to control seagulls which have caused problems with dive-bombing and sandwich-stealing.
The council is believed to be the first in the country to introduce a Public Spaces Protection Order to tackle the menace.
Other authorities may soon follow suit with West Dorset council holding a consultation on introducing the same order.
It comes a few weeks after Lowestoft Vision introduced a hawk and falcon to contain the gulls.
The organisation, which is part of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce in Lowestoft and Waveney, took professional advice from Natural England and the RSPB in recent months to develop a scheme over the winter.
Most Read
- 1 Ipswich residents' frustration over parking chaos
- 2 Long delays on A14 near Ipswich after police called to hole in the road
- 3 'Severe' delays on A12 outside Ipswich after crash closes road
- 4 Suffolk's top 10 fish and chip shops as voted by our readers - now pick a winner
- 5 Man detained after early morning incident in Ipswich road
- 6 Tree works to begin after residents left 'fed up' for two years
- 7 Girl, 15, followed by man while walking dog in village near Ipswich
- 8 Firefighters called to Ipswich house fire
- 9 BT applies to install eight Street Hubs in Ipswich
- 10 Warehousing units take shape at Ipswich as demand rockets
While seagulls are seen as welcome residents in a traditional seaside town, the increase in population has seen a rise in complaints from shoppers which includes reports of food items being snatched and people feeling intimidated by them.
