Are Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls Pests?

Rebecca Taylor

Humans and wildlife often come into conflict as a consequence of increasing human and wildlife populations. In some cases, wildlife are considered "pests." In light of recent conflicts between gulls and the human goal of endangered species protection on Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, this thesis asks the question "Are Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls Pests?" Interactions between humans and gulls have undergone four major shifts during the past two centuries. The change from human exploitation of gulls to the protection of gulls, followed by an increase in gull populations and conflicts and management of gulls characterize a shift from anthropocentric to biocentric values of wildlife. The methods for my research into modern perceptions of gulls included perception surveys, a news analysis and an analysis of economic values of wildlife. The dollar value of gulls decreases as they become more abundant, but my survey results show that the public still feels that their existence value should be protected. The lay public did not feel that gulls are pests while professional scientists felt that they can be in certain situations. The public was open to the control of gull populations, but did not support the use of lethal control methods such as poisoning and shooting, while the professionals supported the use of all methods depending on the goal. There was a large difference between public and professional responses to the survey. The news analysis showed that the words "gull" and "poison" were used to describe the Monomoy gull control program more frequently than management goals and terms. An explosion of public outrage halted the Monomoy program. I recommend that in the future, gull managers include the public in the development of gull control plans and attempt to develop successful communications programs that go beyond explanation of an issue.