|
November
18, 2005
Bird lovers could be landed with £50
fines for feeding gulls in Burnham
Holidaymakers
and residents in Burnham-On-Sea who feed seagulls or pigeons could
face fines of up to £50 from next spring.
 Sedgemoor
District Council is considering whether it can use new powers
under the government's Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act
2005 to introduce the fines.
Signs
along Burnham seafront like the one pictured here near the Sailing
Club already advise people not to feed birds, but these are often
ignored.
Environment
bosses at the district council therefore feel fines might be the
only way to stamp out the problem.
 Frank
Ball, Sedgemoor's environmental protection manager, said: "We've
had complaints about the feeding of gulls for years. The law is
currently very pro-bird."
"Birds
aren't pests and we can only kill them under certain circumstances.
This makes it very difficult for us to do anything about nuisance
birds."
He
added: "It would be a policy decision whether or not to enforce
a ban on feeding. There is a possibility the council will because
of the complaints we get and because the gull population depends
on their food supply."
RELATED
LINKS:
Warning after seagulls are shot in Burnham-On-Sea
by airguns
|
