British Prime Minister David Cameron echoes Senator Ned O'Keeffe's seagull concerns
BRITISH prime minister David Cameron has said "aggressive" seagulls are a problem and there needs to be "a big conversation" about the winged menaces.
His remarks came after a flock of seagulls - which are a protected species in the UK - killed a dog in Cornwall and echo those made by an Irish politician that raised the threat posed by the birds last year.
Senator Ned O'Sullivan dubbed them "dump-gulls".
"They're getting so cheeky now that they attack young children and dispossess them of their lollipops and stuff like that," he said.
He said his views on seagulls drew some "smart alec" comments, but felt vindicated when it emerged that the Health Department was hiring a pest control company to deal with a seagull problem at its premises.
Now Mr Cameron has said he wants to take action after learning about an increase in attacks, saying he had discussed the issue with MPs in Cornwall.
"This is a difficult subject and I think it is a dangerous one for the prime minister to dive in and come up with an instant answer with the issues of the protection of seagulls, whether there is a need for a cull and the rest of it," he told the BBC.
"Reading the papers this morning about how aggressive the seagulls are now in St Ives, we do have a problem."
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