Stickers to deter nuisance seagulls
Ashley Mitchell (right), owner of Frydays in Seaton, attaches a Please Don’t Feed Me sticker to each take-away fish and chips package bought from his outlet. Helping him with the stickers are Seaton Mayor Gaynor Sedgwick and EDDC Technical Officer Debbie Challice. - Credit: Archant
Nuisance seagulls are being targeted in Sidmouth and two other seaside towns by a pair of new, humane initiatives.
Following a Seagull Summit organised by East Devon District Council (EDDC) last year, a falconer is now flying his birds in the town as well as Exmouth and Seaton to disturb nesting sites.
And fish and chip outlets are starting to use stickers to remind customers not to feed scraps or left-overs to gulls, to stop them becoming a menace to people eating outdoors.
The latter project is the brainchild of Seaton Mayor Gaynor Sedgwick, who first put forward the idea at the summit.
Stickers have been designed, approved and printed by the district council. They will now be rolled out across a large number of take-away food outlets.
Councillor Sedgwick said:“We enjoy the gulls. They belong at the seaside and it is our fault that sometimes they are a nuisance. The stickers are a way of reminding people that they do not help the gulls or our community if they feed them.”
Outlets have a strip of self-adhesive stickers that are applied to food containers as they are handed to customers. They carry an image of a gull and the simple message ‘Please don’t feed me’.
Most Read
- 1 Body of woman found near Sidmouth
- 2 Ottery St Mary - a shopping paradise
- 3 A flying visit to a bird reserve and a view on Sidmouth's charity shops - Toto's latest woofings...
- 4 South West warning for drought issued
- 5 How to see the last supermoon of the year this weekend
- 6 Photos: Sidmouth's latest cliff collapses caught on camera
- 7 Closure confirmed for Sidmouth retirement home
- 8 Heatwave may have caused latest Sidmouth cliff falls
- 9 Time to start preparing for potentially harsh winter
- 10 Ottery couple celebrate platinum wedding anniversary
EDDC is also encouraging building owners to protect their roofs against nesting gulls and use an authorised contractor to replace any eggs laid using dummy eggs.
All businesses are also advised to keep their outside areas clear of rubbish and left-over food.