DUNKIRK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Two years ago, Dunkirk had finally had enough of the swarms of thousands of seagulls that would descend on the Save A Lot parking lot menacing shoppers and leaving unsightly messes.
“They were attacking people," said Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak. "There were thousands and thousands. There were drippings on all kinds of buildings.”
“Crazy scene, a scene from a scary movie is what it seemed like," said Vincent DeJoy, director of planning and development for the City of Dunkirk.
Both received numerous complaints from the public and business owners about the out-of-control seagull population.
Luczkowiak reached out to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation who in turn connected her with the USDA Wildlife Services.
They came up with a plan where the business owners put up $6,000 — not the taxpayers — to contract with USDA workers who were certified to cut down on the seagulls by removing their eggs and nests. They left the seagulls themselves alone.
They repeated the method last year and this year, while there were some seagulls around, it's nothing compared to what it used to be like, Luczkowiak said.
But then last week, Dunkirk got word that the program would have to end.
Due to federal funding cuts by the Trump Administration, there were no longer USDA workers available to do the job, as first reported by the Dunkirk Observer.
“They had to cut that program due to staff levels," Luczkowiak said.
Now, the city must apply for its own permit to do the work, a process expected to take months which means the eggs and nests will have to go untouched this spring.
"We hope that the seagull population doesn't reconstitute here and doesn't take away from all the good work that was already done," DeJoy said.
“I think cuts were made very quickly and without really taking a deep dive and taking a real look at what, you know, results were going to be had," Luczkowiak said.
