To protect both human and animal life in Reykjavík, Independence City Councilor Kjartan Magnússon has submitted a proposal to take action against seagulls.
Criticizing the birds’ aggression and dominance at Czornín, Reykjavík’s city pond, Cartan told RÚV: I don’t want to say it too strongly, but you can see the analogy here in the pond among the ducks and ducklings. ”
Specifically, the proposal aims to increase Reykjavík’s deterrence to seagulls, by firing warning shots to scare them away and increasing signs to discourage birds from being fed. and
The proposal is just the latest flashpoint in Reykjavik’s perilous history of human-seabird relations.
In 2007, 60-70 seagulls were anesthetized in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The gull was sedated with drugged bread crumbs and then given a lethal injection. However, the initiative has been criticized for being unscientific and unethical. Furthermore, the initiative was shown to be ineffective, costing 17,000 ISK per bird, and having an unknown, if any, impact on seagull populations.
The article about the Independence Party targeting seagulls in Reykjavik first appeared in the Iceland Review.
