Is Mediterranean gull really so much of a threat? (Photo: Martin Olsson via Wikimedia Commons)
A FARMER who writes a column for The Daily Telegraph has claimed that Britain's gull population "has reached damaging levels".
In a contribution published earlier this week, Jamie Blackett writes: "We need to talk about gulls.
"Particularly gulls of the lesser black-backed and herring varieties are becoming a problem.
"Complaints to councils have doubled in recent years - usually for noise guano-spattered pavements and damage to buildings.
"Soon the papers will be full of summer stories of toddlers having ice creams snatched and of pet dachshunds being attacked."
However, Mr Blackett goes on to adopt a different tack from most of those who have a downer on gulls, stating that these birds now pose "a huge threat to more vulnerable British birdlife".
In particularly, he blames the Mediterranean gull - still an uncommon species in Britain - as "one of the most lethal killers of lapwing chicks", particularly in the South-east.
His source for such a claim?
The columnist does not name any organisation or individual - but attributes his statement information provided by "conservationists from the North Pennine Moors to the North Kent Marshes.
He continues; "These gulls are not by any stretch of the imagination rare, while curlews and other waders may be facing extinction".
Mr Blackett goes on to take a pop at "Chris Packham-backed Wild Justice activists", saying it was their pressure that, in 2019, ended the "general licence to cull gulls and some other birds".
Consent to cull now requires 'special licences' by application to Natural England. But by the time the process has been followed, "the damage has been done".
He concludes: "We need to have serious conversation, not just about gulls, but about our wildlife being destroyed by a predator imbalance that the Government has made much worse."
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