IF any town or village wants to stop seagulls from their normal habits of swooping down and stealing ice cream from children’s hands or sandwiches from outdoor cafe tables then the local authority must take action.
However, whatever action is taken it's clear that the biggest problem with seagulls, in a nutshell, is that they don't abide by the law.
That was the view of Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Phil Gawne in the House of Keys this morning when he was asked to outline the government’s policy on dealing with gulls which are notorious for stealing food in public places and for the sometimes ferocious protection of nests.
Seagulls, and herring gulls in particular, are common all over the Isle of Man, although they have been in significant decline over the last four decades, but not to a critical level.
They are protected under the bird conservation “red list” which shows that there is general “concern” over future populations - a situation which applies across the British Isles, Ireland and the Channel Islands.
Mr Gawne said that gulls have always shown a great adaptability in finding food and protecting their nests but warned the public about taking their own actions against the birds.
He said that government was able to approve general licences which can are issued mostly to the farming community to prevent serious damage to livestock and crops.
As far as the Manx public is concerned, the feeding of pigeons and seagulls is prohibited in public places and should not be encouraged.
“If any local authority wants to take action it will need a well thought out action plan and a public advice campaign . . . my department will give guidelines where possible.”
Onchan MHK David Quirk, who asked the initial question, wanted to know whether the Infrastructure Minister Mr Cretney was currently moving this forward? “I am sure he is giving this matter the attention it deserves,” said Mr Gawne.