Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has made urgent representations to the Government following a recent spate of animal deaths after seagull attacks in Cornwall and Devon.
Following this week’s seagull attack that have resulted in the death of a family pet in St Columb Minor, Steve said,
“This is a terrible and disturbing thing to happen to any family. I have spoken to the family concerned and extended my deepest sympathies to them.
Growing up in Cornwall I know that seagulls have always been a menace often stealing food from people eating in the open or scavenging through dustbins. However I have seen them getting noticeably bolder in recent years, often attacking people during nesting season as well as pets such as we have tragically seen here. Many of us see them as nothing more than flying rats and I think it is high time that something is done about this.
I have written to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Liz Truss and asked her to urgently review the archaic laws protecting seagulls and their nests. I also took the opportunity to raise this personally with the Prime Minister during his recent visit to Cornwall who has said that there ‘needs to be a big conversation’ about how we deal with these pests going forward”.
I will continue to press the issue here and hope that a sensible change in the law can soon be made.”