We Brits used to rub along pretty well with seagulls. Their distinctive call conjured memories of happy days out at the seaside and it was strangely hypnotic to watch them circle above the waters as we breathed in the salty air. But now they’re in danger of becoming public enemy number one as the tabloids pump out scare stories about our feathered friends.
Only this week, the Daily Star called them ‘flying scumbags’, the Daily Mail described them as ‘feathered thugs’, and the Sun labelled them ‘dive-bombing muggers’. Meanwhile, the Daily Express warned that an ‘apocalyptic swarm’ of 3,000 seagulls had ‘invaded a UK town’. The Daily Star raised the stakes to Jurassic levels, terrifying readers with a story about seagulls ‘the size of pterodactyls’ that are ‘terrorising’ a British village.
The Daily Star called gulls ‘flying scumbags’
I’ve never seen a seagull the size of a dinosaur, but I know it is incredibly annoying when they rip open bin bags and dive-bomb you when you’re trying to relax over an al fresco lunch. Around three quarters of the UK’s herring gull population now lives in urban areas: a YouGov survey in 2022 found that more than half of those asked had a negative view of seagulls. A separate study found that more people supported culls than opposed them.
But before we demonise seagulls, we should consider the part we may have played in all this. Overfishing has depleted the fish stocks that they historically relied on for food. Is this why they’re forced to come and bother us for our grub? When they attack us as we eat our fish and chips, they’re only claiming the food stolen from their waters.
Coastal development has also disrupted their nesting sites. As we build more homes and other properties, gulls are forced to move inland to urban areas in search of sustenance and shelter. Rising sea levels and sea temperatures, which have been linked to climate change, may also have disrupted their nesting sites and the availability of food.
It’s typical human arrogance to muck about with nature and then clutch our pearls when it turns out that there may be consequences. When seagulls flock to our towns and cities to harass us for food, they serve as a warning sign that something’s gone wrong. Yet we treat this warning as something to eradicate, rather than listen to.
When things are going well, seagulls play a vital part in the ecosystem because their scavenger nature helps to control the populations of smaller creatures. They also help with nutrient cycling, which boosts the health of marine and coastal environments and reduces the spread of disease. But as their numbers fall, this negatively affects biodiversity, which has a knock-on effect on us all.
Tabloid stories about ‘dangerous’ animals never consider the part that humanity plays in nature’s problems. Every summer we get scare stories about ‘dangerous’ sharks, but while humans kill around 100 million sharks every year, sharks kill very few of us – just seven people worldwide in 2024.
Last summer, the Guardian asked whether cows were ‘the UK’s most dangerous animals’ and the Daily Star described them as ‘mooing killers’. But every year, cows kill around five humans in the UK while humans kill around 2.8 million cows. In recent months, we’ve also had warnings that rats and dangerous dogs are going to be the death of us, but most of us are still standing.
Now it’s the turn of seagulls to face the wrath of the media, and the hysteria is reliably free of self-reflection. Look, I’ve had food whipped out of my hand by a seagull many times. I know it’s annoying and can even be terrifying. But that distinctive call of the seagull that once charmed us should now be heard more as a warning sign. It’s up to us whether we listen or not.
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