An experiment in Dublin is using sound to deter a growing seagull population.
The population of seagulls in Dublin has increased so dramatically in the past decade that council officials and ornithologists regard them as a problem. As a result of a study by An Foras Forbartha, tape recordings of gulls repeating cries of distress have been installed and are playing at Sandyford reservoir.
The result of the operation designed to frighten the birds away are being studied.
The hope is that this method, devised by the British Ministry of Agriculture, will rid dumps and reservoirs of the gulls. Conservationists also hope it will halt the threat of extinction of some rare bird species by the seagulls.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 March 1976. The reporter is Dermot Mullane.
