Blackpool Zoo's seagull-scaring jobs attract 200 applicants

Nearly 200 people from around the world have applied for jobs at a zoo to wear bird costumes as part of official seagull-scaring duties.

Blackpool Zoo in Lancashire advertised after bosses said peckish pests had been persistently stealing food from visitors and animal enclosures.

The zoo said people had applied for the roles from as far as Australia, India, Uganda and war-torn Ukraine.

Applicants have even sent in videos of themselves already dressed as birds.

The successful candidates would join the "visitor services" team as "seagull deterrents", the attraction's advert said.

Five positions are available at £10.80 an hour.

The zoo said those taking on the roles would need to be "outgoing" and "comfortable wearing a bird costume". It is unclear whether the outfit would match the inflatable eagle in the image shared by the venue.

There is precedent for attractions and other commercial enterprises using birds of prey - both real and fake - to deal with feathered frustrations such as gulls and pigeons, including hawks deployed at tennis tournament Wimbledon. And local authorities have tried various other measures to crack town centre winged woe, including lasers and special bins.

The advert reads: "As a seaside resort, Blackpool is not short of seagulls. However, the seagulls are proving to be a bit of a nuisance when it comes to trying to steal food from our visitors and our animal enclosures.

"We need to do what we can to keep the seagulls away from our main visitor dining areas."

Khaled Fawzy, the zoo's section head for birds and events, told the BBC: "It's gone crazy since the advert went out.

"We've had applications from all over the world with people sending videos of themselves dressed as bananas, pineapples and of course birds. Some of it has been a bit bizarre."

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