“The time to act is now!” says Frank
The campaign instigated by former Mayor Frank Godfrey and several others to rid Drogheda of what they perceive as the seagull menace in Drogheda has got off to a flying start.
Following on from a public meeting in the DHotel called by Godfrey two weeks ago, a new group calling itself the Drogheda Seagull Watch was formed and they were out on West Street at the weekend gathering signatures for a petition.
So far not too many people share their alarm but it is certainly the topic of many a conversation in pubs and it has grown wings anywhere that people meet.
Many people have expressed mystery at the sudden concern over what has been described by the group and others as “an invasion” of seagulls. “Crows are more of a nuisance” is a typical response, “do we want rid of them too?”
Frank told Drogheda Life that Drogheda Seagull Watch is calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of Ireland, Charlie McConalogue and the CEO of Louth County Council, Joan Martin, to address what they say is a serious seagull issue in Drogheda.
“We have put up dozens of notices and posters with the message ‘do not feed the seagulls’, in the town centre, shop windows, estates, public places and parks where there is large gatherings of seagulls” Frank said.
“The group has held three meetings to date. The invasion of seagulls in Drogheda in recent times is a concern for our people from a health and safety point of view” he added.
“The time to act is now!” said Frank as he outlined the aims of the campaign as follows:
- To discourage people in the town centre and in estates from feeding the seagulls. Especially in public places like Dominic’s Park people shouldn’t give the gulls food.
- We are encouraging the people of Drogheda to secure their domestic and commercial waste bins, so that the gulls cannot scatter the waste.
- To make people aware through a poster and leaflet campaign that they shouldn’t feed the gulls.
- People should be aware of disease in the gulls’ droppings.
- In the breeding season, gulls can be very aggressive, dangerous, can attack people and they need to be aware of that.
- We are calling on Louth County Council to get pro-active in putting up signs not to feed the gulls, in a number of languages, in known areas where seagulls gather.
