Councillor suggests releasing birds of prey to stop seagulls tormenting the public

Eva Osborne

Releasing birds of prey to stop seagulls tormenting the public and tearing open bins has been suggested for a Dublin town.

It comes as a hospital in Galway warned the public of aggressive gulls in the vicinity of the clinic.

Frank McNamara, Fine Gael Councillor for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, said it is a constant problem in his area.

Speaking to Newstalk, he suggested releasing hawks to keep the birds away.

"I thought to myself, why don't we bring in a rookery and have birds of prey go on patrol around the town during peak times," he said.

"That way, the seagull population would be deterred from being in the town during that time."

Galway Clinic is warning patients and visitors that they may be attacked by “aggressive” seagulls.

Angry gulls have swooped in recent weeks on occupants of vehicles in the multi-storey carpark at Galway Clinic as they emerged from their vehicles, according to the Irish Examiner.

One female victim targeted by the birds described what happened to her as “scary”.

She recounted: “I had just exited my car on the roofless section of the four-storey carpark when this seagull descended, wings flapping, shrieking wildly.

“I was really relieved when I managed to make it through the glass door to the safety of the foyer, where the carpark lifts are located."

As a result of reports and complaints, hospital management has now placed warning notices on the glass entry and exit doors to the fourth-floor carpark tier, alerting the public to the potential dangers.