Former Drogheda Mayor suggests seagull contraception to reduce bird population

Gulls just wanna have fun.

A former politician has claimed that seagulls should be put on contraception in order to stem their numbers in a Louth town. Ex Lord Mayor of Drogheda Frank Godfrey has said that the pesky gulls have been causing chaos in his town year on year and has suggested a solution. Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Mr Godfrey pointed to European cities like Brussels who have been using contraceptive pellets to reduce their pigeon population as an example of how to sort out the issue at home. "The seagulls are the curse of our town. Every year they come here to breed and there is a similar problem up the road in Balbriggan. We have to do something to reduce the seagull population because it keeps getting bigger and bigger. "The streets of Drogheda were like snow this summer, there were so many seagull droppings around the place. These droppings are bad for your health and make a mess of the place. "One solution is to give the birds a contraceptive pill in the food, the other is to try and set up a new feeding area for them outside of the town at the mouth of the River Boyne. "Sadly the local authority Louth County Council don't want to know but the people are behind our campaign. Local restaurants and chip shops have stopped throwing food out for the seagulls to eat. The townspeople are totally fed up with the seagulls because they keep attacking them for their food. "We are not out to destroy the seagulls population altogether, we just want to get the number of gulls under control."

Drogheda holds public meeting over massive seagull problem

Mr Godfrey has previously arranged a public meeting in June to try and rid the town of the growing number of birds. He said at the time that the seagull problem is "going from bad to worse". Seagulls are a protected species under EU law, however nests and eggs can be destroyed when they pose a threat to public health and safety. A 2021 urban gull survey said that, while Drogheda is 6.5km from the sea, "the mix of active shipping along a large tidal river, extensive urban waterfront and adjacent housing estates has seemingly created an attractive breeding habitat."