THERE has recently been a lot of bad publicity regarding seagulls.

This concerns me greatly and although I understand the concerns expressed regarding seagulls becoming aggressive and a nuisance I would like to put forward a different perspective.

The seaside is the seagull's natural habitat and they were there long before we were. Instead of demonising these beautiful seabirds we need to take a closer look at ourselves and our behaviour.

People both local and tourists visit the seaside and unfortunately often leave a considerable amount of rubbish around. Lots of people also feed the birds with chips and all kinds of 'junk' food which can harm them.

If our children eat certain 'junk' food full of additives it can cause hyperactivity and behavioural problems, so I imagine this food is also partly to blame for the seagulls becoming more aggressive.

People often abuse these birds by kicking them away and throwing stones and objects at them.

I recently heard a school teacher whilst on a seaside visit with the school children refer to the seagulls as 'rats with wings'.

Remarks like this are totally irresponsible and do nothing to educate our children to respect and live alongside our fellow creatures and nature.

Before there are any more stories about the seagulls' "reign of terror" etc we should look at the bigger picture and I think you will find that we are largely responsible for the increasing aggression of our seagulls.

The problems are not confined to the seaside. The careless and inconsiderate way that we dispose of our rubbish has escalated the problem of scavenging in towns as well as at the seaside.

We humans have damaged far too many species already with our superior, selfish and often cruel behaviour. Rather than being negative and blaming the seagulls we should be looking at ways to live in harmony with them and other creatures.

Patricia Rafique

Via email