Beaumaris: Several seagulls found dead or injured in town

Seagulls are being targeted in an Anglesey town where several have been found dead or injured, one resident has claimed.

Earlier this week, a gull was found in Beaumaris with its legs broken and its dead chick nearby.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she had found five dead birds, including chicks, and nine eggs removed from nests in recent months.

North Wales Police said all wild birds were protected by law.

The woman said she had also found a mother bird in May, lying with its neck broken and nests of eggs destroyed in St Mary and St Nicholas churchyard.

The Reverend Canon Robert W Townsend said a gull and its eggs had been found dead there.

"Someone is killing them deliberately but they are a protected species," the woman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It is very distressing. Someone is killing them. It is just horrible."

Rev Townsend added: "Some people have a love-hate relationship with seagulls. The birds can be very protective, especially when they have young around.

"Unfortunately, some think it is acceptable it is kill them, but it is never right to do that. What is needed is education about them how to live alongside them."

North Wales Police took the gull found in the churchyard away for analysis, but further examinations were halted after it was found to have bird flu.

PC Matt Raymond of the rural crime team said: "Unfortunately there have been no further lines of inquiry to prove who committed this offence.

"If any seagulls are found dead, especially with no apparent signs of injury, please contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency, as they may have avian influenza."

Wild birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, meaning it is an offence to kill or injure a wild bird, take their eggs or damage their active nests.