‘It’s an assault on the community’ – two Dublin councils receive 346 complaints about seagulls

Seagulls eating ducklings, swooping on a bakery and destroying tiles on a roof were among 346 complaints received by two Dublin county councils since January 2023.

Dublin City Council (DCC) and Fingal County Council (FCC) received a wide range of complaints about the damage caused by seagulls to businesses, tourism and local areas.

The complaints were received across the two council areas, from Fairview Park on Dublin’s northside to Donnybrook on the southside.

DCC received almost 250 complaints and requests about cleaning up rubbish scattered across the street after rubbish bags were opened by seagulls.

“I was absolutely shocked and disgusted to see the litter all over the streets. The smell of waste was revolting,” one concerned local told the council last year.

At least two complainants said that some streets were left impassable due to strewn rubbish.

“Five days now, rats at night, loud seagulls at dawn. The longer it is, [the] more bags are getting added. It’s an assault on the community,” said one resident to Dublin City Council.

“As a capital city and as a Dub myself, I’m embarrassed to say I’m from here. I dread to think what the tourists think,” said another complainant in correspondence released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

Some complained about neighbours feeding the seagulls resulting in excrement dropping on washing lines, windows and cars.

One resident complained about seagulls scratching their car. Another claimed seagulls had destroyed the tiles on their roof leading to leaks in their home.

A third claimed workers were unable to walk near their place of work due to seagulls swarming a nearby bakery when it threw out some bread.

There were almost 60 reports of dead seagulls found in public places.

The complaints described how some of the deceased birds had been beheaded, hit by vehicles and some feared that the birds were infected with avian influenza or bird flu.

A member of the public reported witnessing seagulls lifting 13 ducklings from a pond in the Ranelagh Gardens, stating it must have been “very stressful for the ducks”.

Complaints to FCC on Dublin’s northside included calls for the eggs of seagulls and seagulls to be culled.

Members of the public in the FCC’s area complained that the birds are “screeching” and making a “cacophony of noise” at all times of the day.

One complaint said the nesting of “already hated seagulls” had prevented them from sitting in their back garden and had attacked people and pets, with some pets needing attention from vets.

“Continuing to rely on simple bin bags for domestic waste, in a city with a substantial seagull population, is just ridiculous,” one complainant told DCC.

In response, FCC issued advice saying do not feed the seagulls, do not leave out overloaded bins, and do not leave out plastic bags with food waste.

Dr Stephen Newton, a conservation officer with Birdwatch Ireland, estimated that there are about 10,000 pairs of seagulls living in urban areas, mostly in Dublin but also in Cork and Galway.

Gulls have moved to urban areas and become “more dependent on human waste” as there is “less fish in the sea due to overfishing” and food waste is more readily available in cities, he said.

“Some birds decided they liked burgers and chips and they didn’t have to fly back to the islands to nest,” he said.