Dead and trapped gulls freed from rooftop netting
About a dozen birds, including two which had died, removed from city building
Published:
AN OPERATION began yesterday to free dead and trapped birds from the rooftop netting of a building supplies firm in Aberdeen.
About a dozen seagulls, including two which had died, were removed from the netting on the premises of Jewson, on Stell Road, yesterday afternoon.
The company was warned on Tuesday by the Scottish SPCA that it could face prosecution if immediate action was not taken to free the birds.
The RSPB and the Scottish SPCA had received complaints about the trapped birds from concerned members of the public.
A 160sq ft hole was cut in the anti-gull net by a private roofing firm hired to scale the building using scaffolding.
Three of the removed birds were placed in a cardboard box as they were still too stunned to fly, although they were otherwise uninjured.
They were due to be released last night on the advice of a Scottish SPCA officer.
Two seagulls moving around underneath the netting could not be coaxed out last night, but it is hoped they will fly out through the hole overnight.
Young birds had flown from nearby buildings during the nesting season and were able to pass through the net because of their size.
Jewson branch manager Ian Duncan said: “They were all young apart from the two that died, who we think tried to pass through the net and became tangled when trying to help the smaller birds.
“The hole in the net is now going to stay open so that if any other birds do get in, they will be able to get back out.”
This time last year pest control experts had to use a cherry picker to remove trapped, injured and dead birds from the same netting.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish SPCA said yesterday: “Allowing access through a hole in the net may provide a point of exit, but we would suggest that other methods are used in the long term.”
