Bohemia Village Voice

A new national organisation based in Bohemia is protecting the rights of the endangered gulls, including the herring gull. A rare species, there are only 220,000 resident herring gulls in Great Britain. They are locally common in Hastings, but this gives a false impression of the numbers of the species as a whole. “To put this in context, there are four million puffins.” says the organisation’s founder, Tim McKenzie. “Herring gull numbers have halved in the last ten years.” Since founding National Gull Rescue (logo pictured) this year, Tim and his colleagues have found that, though much maligned “by the vociferous minority”, the majority of people like herring gulls. “We’ve got supporters everywhere. Someone donated £500 last night.” Herring gulls are on the Red List of endangered species, and are now fully protected. There is a penalty of six months in prison or a £20,000 fine for anyone found guilty of harming a gull. o National Gull Rescue & Protection 07765 114599       www.seagullrescue.co.uk