Rubber shots not as effective as selective culling in deterring gulls from landfill sites

• Published in: Applied animal behaviour science 2012-12, Vol.142 (1-2), p.109-115
• Main Authors: Thiériot, Ericka, Molina, Pierre, Giroux, Jean-François
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic food; Gulls; Landfill; Larus delawarensis; Pest management; Scaring
• ISSN: 0168-1591; 1872-9045
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2012.09.008

Landfill managers often need to implement scaring programmes to deter gulls from feeding at their sites because the birds can be a significant nuisance for both site employees and residents of the surrounding area. Our objective was to assess the efficiency of firing rubber shots, a method assumed to be non-lethal but never tested in a bird deterrence context. This method was compared to selective culling, a well-known lethal technique that some people find ethically unacceptable. Both methods were employed in combination with the use of pyrotechnics. Our study was conducted at the Ste-Sophie landfill site near Montreal (Canada) located 37km from a Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) colony supporting 48,000 pairs. Daily counts and behavioural observations were conducted throughout the breeding and post-breeding periods. Firing rubber shots was ineffective in deterring gulls as we observed the same number of birds at the landfill during periods with and without deterrence (P=0.949). However, we counted 38% less birds during the culling periods than during the rubber shot treatment (P=0.014). We detected no sign of habituation during the 7-day culling trials. Culling was also more effective in getting the gulls to leave the site than was rubber shots (47 vs. 11%; P