John Woodcock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support he is providing for local authorities to address issues caused by high gull populations.

George Eustice

Local authorities in England may lethally control gulls or disrupt their nests or eggs, in accordance with licences issued by Natural England for certain purposes. Without a licence, they can also take action to manage gulls by controlling the availability of food by efficiently managing waste (including introducing byelaws to stop intentional feeding of gulls, should they wish) and preventing gulls from landing, roosting or nesting on buildings. Defra does not provide specific support for such measures but Natural England offers free advice to those experiencing problems with gulls.