A new report by Highland Council details ongoing conflict between herring gulls and people, including complaints of noise, food snatching, and aggressive swooping. The breeding season, which lasts from March to August, sees gulls become particularly aggressive, with recent incidents including the disruption of an Easter egg hunt. Inverness is estimated to contain around 700 nesting sites.
A Highland Council spokesperson said urban gull activity has increasingly given rise to public concern, particularly regarding noise, aggression, food scavenging, fouling, and nesting on buildings. The Scottish Government convened an urban gulls summit in Inverness on the Tuesday prior to the statement, a direct response to increasing public concern about the impact of gull populations in towns and cities. Jim Fairlie, the Scottish Government minister, said the primary purpose of the summit was to listen, learn, and begin shaping a coordinated national approach.
The minister worked with NatureScot to address immediate dangers in Elgin and Inverness areas, where an area licence was required for the past nesting season. Highland Council and NatureScot have invested £20,000 in a baseline study and developed a pilot gull management plan for Inverness, which focuses on prevention, public awareness, and lawful control measures. The pilot plan will be considered by councillors later this month, according to a council source.
Highland Council launched an online survey on 9 April 2026 to capture data on gull attacks, with the information shared helping to spot problem areas that may require further assessment or investigation. Inverness BID launched a 'GULL WATCH' campaign in April 2026 to encourage reporting of gull-related incidents. The council provides an online survey for reporting gull-related issues including aggressive behavior, feeding behavior, nesting issues, fouling, and welfare concerns.
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is illegal to capture, injure, or destroy any wild bird, or to disturb their nests or eggs. Local authorities, including Highland Council, have no legal duty to manage urban gulls. NatureScot advocates for non-lethal control methods, but has faced criticism for significantly reducing the approval rate for applications to remove 'nuisance' gulls, according to sources.
The agency balances public health and safety concerns with its duty to conserve declining gull species, a spokesperson indicated. Gulls are increasingly moving into urban areas due to readily available food sources and safe nesting sites on roofs, away from predators. A NatureScot spokesperson said gulls have moved into towns and cities mainly due to easily available food and safe nest sites on roofs, free of predators and disturbance.
Feeding gulls encourages aggressive behavior, larger congregations, and increased droppings, and dropping food waste can be considered littering with an £80 fixed penalty notice. Gulls return to the same nesting sites each year and can live for 30 or more years. All five commonly encountered gull species that breed in Scotland, including the herring gull, are facing serious overall population declines, according to conservation data.
Gull numbers have collapsed by 44 to 75 per cent, leading to red-listing for conservation concern, reports indicate. Traditional coastal habitats are suffering from shifts in food availability, land use changes, and devastating outbreaks of avian flu. A NatureScot spokesperson said the problem of urban gulls is complex due to falling numbers of herring gulls and other species overall, despite more gulls moving into urban settings.