'Safe sex for seagulls' Why plan to give contraception to birds may not fly

Their brazen swooping, squawking and chip-snatching has earned seagulls a reputation as a scourge of seaside towns - terrorising tourists and enraging residents.

- Hannah Devlin

And as the marauding birds have ventured inland and set up urban colonies, towns have deployed netting, spikes and even birds of prey as deterrents. Now Worcester city councillors appear to be contemplating a new front in the battle: bird contraceptives.

The approach, described by the Labour councillor Jill Desayrah as "safe sex for seagulls", is inspired by experimental pigeon-control schemes in Barcelona and Venice.

"I am concerned that increasing numbers of gulls are getting out of hand," Desayrah said, according to a report in the Mirror.

Contraceptives have been used with varying degrees of success as a humane approach to containing rats on the New York subway, as well as populations of kangaroos, wild horses, prairie dogs and grey squirrels. But experts are sceptical about the approach being a risk-free quick fix.

First, the perception of gulls as an out-of-control pest species may not match reality.

"While it may appear as though gull species are thriving because of their increasing numbers in some urban areas, they are not faring well elsewhere," an RSPB spokesperson said. "People will be surprised to learn that many species of gulls are red and amber listed across the UK - the highest levels of conservation concern. Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls are both declining nationally."