Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the protected status of seagulls.

The Government has no plans to change the legal protections for gull species. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee Seabird Census (2015-2021) and the 2024 Birds of Conservation Concern report indicate substantial population declines due to, for example, avian influenza and prey availability. This includes gull species such as herring and lesser black-backed gulls.

All wild birds in England, including gulls, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In exceptional cases Natural England can issue licences for the management of protected species, including gulls, for certain purposes such as protecting public health and safety or for conservation.