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| Gulls and their guano are a filthy menace | Gulls and their guano are a filthy menace |
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| Richard Ellis says cleaning up is costly and more suitable habitats for the birds should be restored | Richard Ellis says cleaning up is costly and more suitable habitats for the birds should be restored |
| The decline in gull numbers must be a cause for concern. However, having once lived in a much gull-colonised town, I’d like to advance an alternative view to Sophie Pavelle’s (Trying to get rid of noisy, food-stealing gulls is missing the point – it’s humans who are the pests, 8 June). | The decline in gull numbers must be a cause for concern. However, having once lived in a much gull-colonised town, I’d like to advance an alternative view to Sophie Pavelle’s (Trying to get rid of noisy, food-stealing gulls is missing the point – it’s humans who are the pests, 8 June). |
| Urban gulls excrete guano copiously. It covers cars, buildings and streets in a steady, noxious rain. As a corrosive substance it damages paintwork on buildings and paint on cars, guttering and ironwork, such as railings. As a fertiliser it boosts the growth of weeds on roofs and pavements, blocking drainage systems. | Urban gulls excrete guano copiously. It covers cars, buildings and streets in a steady, noxious rain. As a corrosive substance it damages paintwork on buildings and paint on cars, guttering and ironwork, such as railings. As a fertiliser it boosts the growth of weeds on roofs and pavements, blocking drainage systems. |
| Consequently, an enormous, expensive amount of repainting, woodwork replacement, guttering replacement, roofing repairs, pavement cleaning, car washing and car respraying must occur – all of these, in their way, ultimately creating substantial damage to the environment (paint, cleaning agents, building materials) at a high cost to local authorities. | Consequently, an enormous, expensive amount of repainting, woodwork replacement, guttering replacement, roofing repairs, pavement cleaning, car washing and car respraying must occur – all of these, in their way, ultimately creating substantial damage to the environment (paint, cleaning agents, building materials) at a high cost to local authorities. |
| Some towns, such as Exmouth, avoid this by mounting campaigns to prevent gull-feeding. What also needs to occur is the restoration of habitats where gulls once lived – not a defence of their invasive and polluting presence in towns. Their webbed feet prove they are not naturally urban dwellers, after all.Richard EllisDerby | |
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