Trial to tackle seagull problem

The Municipality of The Hague is launching a trial in mid-April to reduce the main problems caused by seagulls: the screeching noise, the pecked open bags of rubbish and the mess from their droppings. The nuisance cannot be completely eradicated, but some of the measures should help to reduce it.

As of 15 April residents of The Hague can report problems caused by nesting seagulls. As part of the trial, instances reported by residents in the city districts of Scheveningen, Escamp, Centrum and Haagse Hout will be dealt with by substituting the eggs – if the nests are accessible – with dummy eggs.

Because it’s still a trial project, the seagull eggs will be exchanged in only four city districts. Residents of other districts can report seagull nuisance. However, the eggs will not be replaced with dummy eggs.

Success in Leiden

The Municipality of Leiden has had success with replacing seagull eggs with dummy eggs. Apparently the seagulls accept the dummy eggs and spend so much time trying to hatch them that they have no time to lay a second clutch.  Given that most of the screeching and aggression occurs if there is a baby bird in the picture, exchanging the eggs means that there will not only be fewer seagulls born but that there will also be less nuisance.

Safety

Because the eggs must be replaced carefully and with consideration for the welfare of the birds, the municipality has engaged the services of a specialist company with all the necessary equipment and expertise. The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has granted an exemption from the Flora- en Faunawet (Wildlife and Countryside Act) in order to make the trial possible.

All reports welcome

The results from the trial in Scheveningen, Escamp, Centrum and Haagse Hout will be compared with reports received from other city districts in order to monitor the effectiveness of the measures. It is therefore important that residents in the other four districts where no action is currently being taken also report any problems with seagulls. The trial will be evaluated at the end of the summer.

Set of measures

The substitution of dummy eggs is part of a wider set of measures to tackle the nuisance caused by seagulls. The most important measure is to limit the amount of food available to the gulls. This is primarily the responsibility of The Hague’s residents. They can help by not putting their rubbish bags out on the street any earlier than is really necessary.

Residents should wait until just before 7.45 hrs. on the morning the refuse is to be collected. The less time the bags are on the streets the less opportunity the gulls and other animals will have to tear open the bags. Putting out food for birds and animals should also be curtailed once the winter is over.

More info

All the information on how the municipality is tackling the seagull problem as well as the form you can use to report nests near your home can be found on the Dutch-language municipal website.

This article is based on a translation from the website of the Archipel & Willemspark neighbourhood association.