Bird
conservationists have issued a warning over the latest food craze sweeping
upmarket London restaurants – seagull eggs.
Seagulls might be a menace to
anyone eating food on the seafront of Plymouth and a thorn in
the side of tourists across the South West, but the tables are
turned in the capital where
diners cannot get enough of the delicacy.
Hundreds of thousands of seagull
eggs are being sold to posh restaurants to feed hungry restaurant-goers –
raising concerns for the RSPB and other
bird lovers.
The eggs - which are harvested
legally and not poached - are considered a delicacy among London's discerning
diners.
The eggs, which can fetch up to
£10 each, are taken from the nests of black-headed gulls.
Natural England issues licences for people to harvest the eggs from the birds, which are common along the south coastlines of Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.
The organisation, which is the government's adviser for the natural environment, has disclosed that over a period of seven years it has issued licences allowing almost 500,000 eggs to be taken from black-headed gulls.
And according to a Freedom of Information request it approved the taking of nearly 33,000 eggs last year alone.
Although licenses are given out for those who harvest the eggs, the RSPB has said that there is a concern about the issue of people taking the eggs illegally.
Natural England issues licences for people to harvest the eggs from the birds, which are common along the south coastlines of Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.
The organisation, which is the government's adviser for the natural environment, has disclosed that over a period of seven years it has issued licences allowing almost 500,000 eggs to be taken from black-headed gulls.
And according to a Freedom of Information request it approved the taking of nearly 33,000 eggs last year alone.
Although licenses are given out for those who harvest the eggs, the RSPB has said that there is a concern about the issue of people taking the eggs illegally.
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