The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Squawk of the town: Gull invasion in Oamaru

Otago Daily Times
10 Aug, 2020 09:17 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Streeter Concepts owner Lance Streeter says red-billed gulls are causing a stink in Oamaru's central business district. Photos / Rebecca Ryan and Gus Patterson

Streeter Concepts owner Lance Streeter says red-billed gulls are causing a stink in Oamaru's central business district. Photos / Rebecca Ryan and Gus Patterson

The Waitaki District Council is compiling a report about Oamaru's red-billed gull problems for Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage.

At an Otago Mayoral Forum last week, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher raised the town's gull issues with the minister.

The council was also seeking to use an exemption clause in the Wildlife Act to prevent the gulls from nesting in the central business district, Kircher said.

The native gulls are protected under the act and, at present, once their nests are formed, it is an offence to remove them.

"The main thing is being able to remove their nests and just stop them breeding so they move on away from buildings, and we'll certainly try to get them going to a more natural habitat," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Local anecdotes suggest there is an increasing number of them making their homes on rooftops and creating major problems for building owners."

In recent years, business and building owners in Oamaru have complained that the gulls nesting in the retail area were creating an unwanted disturbance, in the form of noise and excrement, despite a number of measures being employed to encourage the native birds to move on.

"All too often, we're accused of taking habitat from wildlife - this is the other way around.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There were different theories as to why they had started nesting in town - one being that it was connected with the closure of the landfill in 2017.

In a perfect world, humans and red-billed gulls would peacefully co-exist in Oamaru's central business district, Kircher said.

"But, at the moment, that's certainly not the way it is," he said.

Some people were "more than happy" to cull the gulls, but "we never want it to be at that stage", Kircher said.

Discover more

NZ's rarest bird the fairy tern gets human help in Northland

30 Jul 12:00 AM

Pūkeko taco stars at game bird food night

04 Aug 03:35 AM

Why farmers are painting eyes on cows' backsides

09 Aug 10:45 PM

Popular insecticides harm birds in the US

10 Aug 08:52 PM

It was a "useful" discussion with Sage last Friday, he said.

"She's asked for further information . . . [about] the different measures we're trying in order to get them to move elsewhere.

"She wants to get a better feel for what ways it is a problem, and how big those problems are.

"We will also be seeking reports from business and building owners in the area about what they've had to do."

In the meantime, the council would continue to support whatever legal means there were to keep the gulls away, he said.

Council staff had been working with the Department of Conservation (Doc) to find solutions to the problem, but Doc was controlled by the Wildlife Act as much as anyone else, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There are plenty of conservationists who see no problem at all having gulls in the middle of town as they are," he said.

"The reality is it's just causing so much damage to buildings, to businesses – it's putting people off going to areas where there are high gull numbers and that's not good for our town."

Streeter Concepts owner Lance Streeter moved his signwriting business from Severn St to Coquet St after lockdown this year.

Streeter bought the Coquet St building before the red-billed gulls made their move to the area.

He was now facing a hefty bill to install gull deterrents and for clean-up measures.

"We're also having to look at fitting out the building and having internal access to the roof, because we have to be up on the roof every single day [clearing nest materials before nests are formed].

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You feel for everyone. You feel for Countdown, you feel for all the businesses, and it's not good for the town, either."

Sometimes the birds were so noisy "you can't even hear yourself think", he said.

Streeter encouraged other businesses to report their issues to the council, which had been very helpful.

"Credit where credit's due – the council has gone above the call of duty and I highly recommend anyone else going through this to reach out to them," he said.

"It would be awesome if the Government or Doc could get on board."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim
The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

Jock Davies was remembered for his infectious humour, caring nature and great strength.

14 Jul 04:21 AM
City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land
The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

14 Jul 03:16 AM
The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath
The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath

14 Jul 02:16 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP