Scarborough seagull plague defines litter epidemic and need for solutions – The Yorkshire Post says

AS Scarborough Council’s ‘seagull police’ now realise, there’s very little in their policy armoury to deter those fearless gulls – public enemy number one – who have become a plague as they swoop on unsuspecting visitors enjoying fish and chips.

Effective pest control measures have proven to be about as elusive as the poet TS Elliot’s mystery cat Macavity – and the addition of warning signs on take-away boxes, however well-intended, probably faces a similar fate.

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But the council deserves credit for choosing to revive the action plan that was first unveiled in 2020 before the onset of Covid changed the local authority’s priorities. And central to this is a far greater societal challenge – litter.

What more can be done to curtail Scarborough's nuisance seagulls?What more can be done to curtail Scarborough's nuisance seagulls?
What more can be done to curtail Scarborough's nuisance seagulls?

Unless the public can be persuaded to dispose of their detritus responsibly, and local authorities can afford to devote more resources to the collection of rubbish, the seagulls will prevail.

Answers on a proverbial postcard, please, on how you would tackle this perennial problem.

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