Overview
- Highland Council has prepared a pilot management plan for urban gulls in Inverness and will ask councillors to consider the options later this month.
- The draft focuses on prevention and deterrence, outlining roof spikes and nets, audio scarers, kites, reflective devices and anti‑perch systems, with lethal control described as a last resort.
- Officials commissioned external consultants for a £20,000 baseline census across a 5 km² city‑centre area, and an online survey remains open to capture reports of attacks and nuisance.
- Residents report early‑morning noise, dive‑bombing and food snatching that have kept pupils eating indoors and disrupted events, including a recent Easter egg hunt in the city centre.
- NatureScot urges non‑lethal methods as seabird counts show 44% to 75% declines in Scotland’s common gull species, and reported approval rates for nest removals have dropped since 2022.