Freedom of Information Request - Cull Control
Date: 29 April 2025
Our ref: SIR179755/A5116798
Information Request – Cull Control
Your Request
'We hereby call on you under the Freedom of Information Scotland Act to provide us with the as yet unpublished policy which we understand exists, in relation to gull control; and we ask secondly for all information and documents relating to the level of gull population in our constituency areas; and thirdly for the data and documents you have in relation to the number of reports that you are aware of injury to individuals.’
Our Response
Unpublished policy on gull control?
We do not hold any additional relevant information beyond the policy papers sent to you in response to an earlier request dated 27 September 2024. I have re-attached this separately for ease.
Information and documents relating to the level of gull population in our constituency areas?
Monitoring and reporting of gull numbers is not produced against constituency boundaries. This means that EIRs Regulation 10(4)(a) (Information not held) applies to this part of your request.
The most updated information on gull numbers, from the 2023 Seabirds Count, is available from the JNCC website. This will allow filtering at the national and local council authority level.
Other sources of information that may be of interest:
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) seabird surveys project report
• British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Seabird Monitoring Programme
To note, the latest breeding seabird data is also available on the NatureScot website: Scottish Biodiversity Indicator – The numbers and breeding success of seabirds (1986 to 2023). The associated news release is available: Seabird numbers in Scotland continue to fall. The report gives detailed trends for species of seabirds in Scotland over the ten years (2013- 2023) and back to the beginning of the survey in 1986.
Data and documents you have in relation to the number of reports that you are aware of injury to individuals?
Our licencing policy for management of gulls under the purpose of preserving public health or public safety is provided, alongside our guidance for managing gulls.
Licencing do not hold the information relating to the third question, but local GPs or hospitals may have records of injuries that have been treated.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
Document downloads
Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).
