Seagulls and other wild birds

If you have gulls nesting on your roof, you must not remove the nest until the young have fledged and the nest is empty. 

If you have had nesting gulls on your property previously, you should take the following preventative measures:

• Remove all nesting materials at the end of the nesting season (around September / October).
• Proof previous or potential nesting sites on your property to discourage gulls from coming back. You may find that a cage over a chimney stack may solve the problem, but there are number of options commercially available including spikes and bird repellent gels.

The responsibility for resolving a nesting problem lies with the owner or occupier of an affected building.

Business owners should take a responsible approach to using netting on their buildings. Netting must be checked regularly to make sure that there are no holes allowing birds to enter and become trapped. Injuring birds due to badly maintained netting is still a wildlife offence.