Aarhus, Denmark’s second-biggest city took on its #1 menace, and so far the enemy—raucous seagulls—is winning.
City residents have complained in recent years about the exploding population of the shore-dwelling birds, complaining that they fill the air with “horrific noise 20-21 hours a day” and also display aggressive behavior, including smelly deposits.
After many complaints, the City Council declared a hunting season on the birds for early spring, before their migration, and selected 16 hunters from among 350 applicants to shoot the birds with airguns.
The plan is officially a flop and won’t be repeated: the birds proved just too smart. Once the first hunters appeared, the birds abandoned the location for other areas, where the process repeated. The birds just kept shifting location.
Susanne Madsen, the chairwoman of Aarhus’s hunting association, told a local newspaper “They are smart. And at the same time there security issues have to be considered when we show up with an air rifle.
Maybe next year, another plan…since it appears that the Elmer Fudd scenario has been as successful as it was for, well, Elmer Fudd.
A few hawks and eagles would take care of the problem. As would hunters in blinds using real weapons (air guns are for kids).
Seagulls are just rats with wings.
They ruin lake fishing when you scatter ground bait. Scare the fish.
Take 12 inches of fishing line. Tie a hook at each end. Make a ball of bread at each hook. Shoot into the sky with your bait catapult. Catch a seagull at each end.
The noise they make scares the rest of the flock.
Instantly fly away !