Food truck launches insurance against theft by gulls

Customers of a food truck on the Isle of Man have been offered the chance to take out "seagull insurance" in case their snacks are "snatched" by the birds.

Hawkins BBQ said it had launched the £1 daily policy guaranteeing replacement food after seeing an increase in the number of incidents at its coastal pop-ups.

Co-owner Charlotte Smith said the outlet wanted "customers to be able to have their food in peace".

Money raised from the scheme will be donated to the Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT), which has described the initiative as "innovative and amusing".

Ms Smith said up to three customers a week had been "attacked" for their food when operating at coastal locations.

She said she decided to introduce the optional fee last week, after being inspired by a Scottish trader facing similar issues.

By raising funds for the local conservation charity, she said she hoped it would protect the species, adding: "We don’t want to fight them, we want to live with them."

"As much as they sometime terrorise customers, they are part of our culture and we need to do out part and keep that ecosystem going."

Herring gulls, which are protected a species on the island, are in decline and feature on conservation concern lists.

MWT chief executive Leigh Morris said he "couldn't see a risk in the scheme" and confirmed any funds raised would be "ring-fenced" for their seabird conservation programme, which also protects puffins and Manx shearwaters.

He said following the urbanisation of the island, the gulls had "adapted to the food and environment around us".

As there was "less natural food" because of a much-reduced herring industry, he gulls were "going to find food elsewhere", he added.

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