Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 10 December 2025
That brings us to our two final new petitions. PE2189, which has been lodged by Ian Boyles, calls on the Scottish Government to remove legal protected status for gulls to help reduce their numbers in residential areas, which was the subject of a recent debate in Parliament. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to no longer grant protected status to gulls, in order to facilitate the reduction of seagull numbers in populated areas and ensure the safety of residents from attacks.
The SPICe briefing shows that the common gull, great black-backed gull and herring gull are now all red-listed species of conservation concern in the UK, while the lesser black-backed gull and black-headed gull are amber listed. Certain species now appear to have a higher proportion of their UK breeding population nesting in urban and inland nest sites, rather than on coastal sites. Those members who live in urban constituencies are very aware of that because gulls have become the subject of quite a few representations—certainly, I have received them.
Gulls are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended by the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. It is illegal to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any gull, and an offence to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents. In Scotland it is also illegal to obstruct or prevent gulls from using their nests. NatureScot has powers under the act to license activities—for defined legal purposes—that may otherwise be an offence. Those purposes include, for example,
“preserving public health or public or air safety”.
Hopefully our friends in NatureScot might do something in that regard.
The Scottish Government’s position is that legal protected status for gulls should not be removed, as it does not consider this to be the solution to help reduce their numbers in residential areas—perhaps we should send them a little letter asking them to fly elsewhere. In its submission, the Government highlights that the maximum level of licensed control authorised between 2020 and 2023 could have led to gull population declines, according to research carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology.
In September, the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity chaired a gull summit in Inverness, which was the subject of some controversy. As a result of the summit, the focus over the coming months will be on five key areas in relation to gull management. These actions include the joint development and delivery of a gull management pilot for the city of Inverness by NatureScot and Highland Council, which will inform the development of national best practice. Additionally, the Government makes it clear that NatureScot will work to support licence applications earlier in the year and that its focus will be on licensing in areas where health and safety needs are highest.
Do members have any comments or suggestions for actions? Mr Torrance, are you supplanting Mr Golden’s prevailing interest in wildlife?