| The man, who wished not to be named, was walking in Gellatly Street around 5am when he saw two pest control staff culling a flock of seagulls.
“I saw the two employees shooting at the seagulls with high-powered rifles,” he said.
He then watched in horror as the shooters scaled a fence at the nearby Gellatly Street car park to grab a gull chick.
“I’ve been watching that young chick for the past three weeks in its nest,” the man said.
“They shot its mother, climbed the fence at the car park, nabbed it from its nest and battered it about the head until it was dead.
“I was so sickened I called the police.”
The man waited until police arrived but was told the force was powerless.
“They told me there’s nothing they can do about it,” he said. “It’s in the council’s remit that they can destroy the gulls any way they see fit.”
The incident comes in the wake of a spate of letters to the Tele about the nuisance caused by the birds.
Seagulls were made a protected species last year, but on Friday Councillor George Regan, a former convener of the environmental services committee, said it was time for a cull.
Mr Regan said the gulls were a pest and proposed the destruction of nests to reduce next year’s flock.
However, he said that approach was preferable to the methods used in Gellatly Street today.
“If you can control next year’s crop and be more vigilant without sending out people with guns, it may be a more effective way of dealing with it,” he said.
A spokesman for the city council said, “There is no cull of seagulls as such, but the council does take action when they are causing a health hazard and nuisance because of their numbers.
“We investigate all complaints from the public and from companies who may have gulls nesting on their buildings and animal control officers deal with the problem.”
The spokesman said gulls in the city centre caused problems because they scavenge for food among the litter dropped by the public.
“Rubbish bags left out in the street are also ripped open by the gulls and, as many members of the public are aware, they are particularly aggressive during the present breeding time.
“If the council did not take action the gull population would rise and there would be even greater problems and risk to the public.” |
