“Blackpool Zoo’s Seagull Repellent Job Goes Global”

A job advert on the Zoo’s website says: “It goes without saying that we love all animals at Blackpool Zoo! And as a seaside resort, Blackpool has no shortage of seagulls. However, when they try to steal food from our visitors and our animal enclosures, seagulls are a bit of a nuisance. “

Successful candidates will join the zoo’s visitor services team as “gull repellents”, the ad said. The zoo has five positions of seagull repellers at €12.30 (£10.80) an hour.

Blackpool Zoo has announced that people have applied for the job of a seagull repeller from as far away as Australia, India, Uganda and Ukraine. Several applicants have even submitted videos of themselves already dressed as birds.

Head of Birds and Events at Blackpool Zoo, Cailed Faivsey, said: “We’ve had submissions from all over the world of people sending in videos of themselves dressed up as bananas, pineapples and of course birds. Some of them have been a bit weird.”

There are already precedents in England for various companies to use birds of prey – both real and fake – to deal with unwanted raids by seagulls, pigeons and other birds at various events, attractions and sporting events. During tennis tournaments at Wimbledon, for example, live, specially trained hawks are used, whose presence deters other birds.