DAVID RUTLAND investigates an aerial issue that’s angered shop owners, customers and motorists in a busy shopping centre. THE Hot Topic on everybody’s lips has been predatory seagulls and the difficulty of eating ice-cream in public. Rhyl residents are fed-up of them, visitors are scared of them – I’ve been attacked by them. And the problem is only likely to get worse. Nesting on top of most of the town’s buildings, many of the birds will not migrate to warmer climes this winter, finding more food in Rhyl High Street than they ever would in their traditional hideaways of Spain, North Africa and Portugal. Every year, their numbers increase. Not by the acres of beach where they find fish, insects, worms and crabs, but in and around the town centre, where they survive on a diet of sausage rolls, pasties and burgers. Despite the best efforts of management at the White Rose Centre, shoppers have to wade through sticky piles of avian faeces. One angry mother said: “I parked up on the roof and it was covered with bird mess. It was absolutely disgusting. “The whole car park was awash and there were two poor blokes trying to clean up the mess. “My two boys and I had to try and dodge huge piles of seagull droppings as we tried to get to the lift.” Rhyl mayor Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones has decided that enough is enough and proposed a massive cull of the scavenging sea birds. And she says she has the backing of the full town council. “I’ve asked Denbighshire to look at the seagull situation and I know now that they haven’t been addressing the issue or culling the birds or their eggs for three years,” she told the Visitor. “I’d like to see the county council look at the problem and start an immediate cull of the eggs. “It has clearly got out of hand and in areas such as the White Rose car park it’s dreadful. You couldn’t put a pin between the seagulls. “I’m not happy and it’s gone on and on and on and people in the High Street are being attacked. “I don’t want them obliterated completely because Rhyl is a seaside resort and there are supposed to be seagulls, but they’ve become an infestation and we have to address the problems that they are causing the general public. “And it’s not just in the town centre, they’re in the whole of the community, especially the West End.” Common sense dictates these seagulls aren’t going to go away until they run out of things to eat. Assuming that nobody is feeding them deliberately, this means keeping sausage rolls and pasties out of sight, using the litter bins for rubbish and not eating ice creams in the open. Last month in Scotland it was announced that a major campaign was getting underway to destroy seagull nests as part of a drive to stop aggressive urban birds menacing towns and cities. But in Wales, there is severe opposition to culling and destruction as methods of population control. And a special early morning open meeting called by White Rose Centre manager Richard Henderson last Monday failed to attract interest from the general public. Only Chris Ruane, Cllr David Lee, two Rhuddlan residents and one local Rhyl resident turned up. “Considering the poor condition of Rhyl features prominently on the agenda of Rhyl Town Council and Rhyl business group, I am very disappointed that there was no representation from either of these groups,” said Mr Henderson. “I’m exasperated that local officials highlight a serious problem, then seemingly fade away into the background. “Although I appreciate the genuine pro-activeness of the likes of Chris Ruane, I am unconvinced that any tangible results will manifest itself. “It is OK spending money on grandiose enterprises such as new shopping complexes and floral displays, but a back to basics ethos should be instilled in the town. “At present I cannot take the local town council seriously enough. The matter of cleaning up Rhyl should not be a crusade as these tend to be lengthy and utilise much energy. “It should be an integral and basic part of Rhyl’s environmental strategy.” | 
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