A new regime for controlling gull populations being trialled in Bath prioritises the protected birds’ wellbeing over people’s health, the city’s MP has said. 

Wera Hobhouse said Natural England had raised the bar too high and made it almost impossible to get permission to remove nests. 

She hit out at the government body for dismissing officers’ concerns about the impact of gull noise and faeces and took her concerns to environment minister, Rebecca Pow. Natural England said the organisational licence being trialled in Bath aims to assess the potential for coordinated city-scale non-lethal deterrents for the protected species and allow the Council to quickly assess urgent cases. 

But Mrs Hobhouse said with fewer nests removed this year, gull numbers had jumped and residents face a growing problem unless something is done, adding: “It’s simply gone too far. Cities are not the natural environment for gulls, and if their coastal population is falling, then let’s look at habitat restoration, not the reduction of the quality of human life.

“It remains the case that people’s health is suffering from the lack of sleep induced by gull noise every spring, but Natural England simply responds by saying if it’s too noisy, close your windows and move your beds. On being told that gulls are dropping their faeces over garden furniture and children’s toys, they are saying wipe them. 

“It is the professional opinion of our environmental health officers that these persistent events pose a genuine risk to health, and I find it offensive that their judgement is being dismissed in such a flippant manner.”

Mrs Hobhouse said Ms Pow was sympathetic to the health impacts but the departmental position remains the same: herring gulls are on the endangered red list.

Dave Slater, Natural England’s Director for wildlife licensing and enforcement cases, said: “We urge Councils who are experiencing problems with urban gulls to work with us and will shortly be announcing how they can do so.”