An animal lover, who has saved dozens of seagulls, and estimates she has nursed more than 100 baby birds back to health, said she'll continue saving gulls despite getting a council warning. April Lock's passion for saving birds began four years when she was horrified at the sight of some squashed baby swans on the road.
Since that day she has been on a mission to help as many as she possibly can. She's even had to build several large pens in her garden to house all the birds before releasing them back into the wild.
Speaking to North Wales Live, she said: "When I noticed how many seagull chicks were abandoned and being squashed on the road, I spoke to different sanctuaries and vets but it didn't seem like anyone could help them. So I took things into my own hands and decided to rescue them.
"I don't think a lot of people realise that if you give the birds to the RSPCA or the vets, then they're usually euthanised, even if they're completely healthy", she claimed. "I know some people don't like animals but I'm just trying to do something good for the animals and the locals as well."
April said she has received a largely positive reaction from the local community, which is why she was surprised to receive a letter from Gwynedd Council earlier this month, warning of the dangers of feeding wild birds. Posting a picture of the letter on social media, April wrote: "Sometimes you can't do right from wrong.
"All I have done is tried to help these animals and someone has complained to the council about me, ridiculous. #iwontstophelpingthem"
A spokesperson for Gwynedd Council said whilst they don’t have an official policy, residents feeding seagulls regularly on their properties may be subject to a letter or a visit from Public Protection Officers who will advise on why it is important not to feed seagulls. They said: “Availability of food sources is the reasons why so many seagulls now populate our coastal towns and villages.
"Gwynedd Council regularly campaigns to raise awareness of the problem – and to stress the importance of ensuring that people do not feed the seagulls." Despite the council warning, April said she is determined to continue her work to prevent the unnecessary deaths of seagull chicks.
She said: "The letter from the council is the first complaint that I've had but I'm not hurting anyone and I've had loads of positive feedback from people locally. Some of the birds come to me when they're tiny, just a ball of fluff in the palm of my hand.
"Some of them I hand fed with the syringe and got up every two to three hours during the night to feed them. So now it's so rewarding when you see them flying away because I know without my helping hand that they probably wouldn't have made it."
