Overview
- Inverness BID staff at a city‑centre Easter egg hunt over the weekend documented 16 incidents where gulls swooped at people, with some strikes reported against children.
- Highland Council has introduced an online tool that lets the public report encounters by submitting the date, location and a brief description.
- Officials say the reports will help pinpoint hotspots and sort behaviours linked to chick protection from those driven by food scavenging to shape the right response in each area.
- The council reminds residents that gulls and their nests are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so mitigation will focus on proportionate, non‑lethal measures.
- BID warns that breeding season heightens risk because adult gulls defend chicks and seek food more aggressively, and locals in Inverness and nearby Nairn have raised similar concerns in past years.