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Seagulls Are Getting Drunk And Making Fools Of Themselves

Seagulls Are Getting Drunk And Making Fools Of Themselves

A spate of inebriated seagulls has been reported in coastal towns recently, with some of them even puking because they've drunk too much

Mischa Pearlman

Mischa Pearlman

We've all been there. It's a glorious sunny day and you decide to nip to pub for a quick weekend pint and you end up staying for not just one or two pints, not four or five, but until you're so pissed that you barely know your name or where you live and it's not even early evening and the sun's still up but you're yakking your guts up and it's impossible to even stand up for more than a few seconds at a time, let alone walk in a straight line.

You might think such behaviour is limited to humans, but you'd be wrong. Seagulls are getting in on the drunken actions, too. In fact, the RSPCA says it's been inundated with calls reporting birds that are pissed out their skulls.


via GIPHY

One RSPCA centre in West Hatch near Taunton, Somerset has reportedly had to deal with almost 30 paralytic birds in a two week period, some of which have even been puking from excessive alcohol consumption.

One theory is that the seagulls have been consuming booze left behind on beaches by boozed up revellers, another that they've been swooping in on grain by-products from a local brewery. Either way, they're getting drunk - but it's not necessarily as fun as that sounds.

Talking to Metro, vet David Couper explained how bizarre that there have been so many instances.

PA

"It's very unusual," he said. "We had a couple of isolated cases last year. But this year there has been a spate of cases with birds from east Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

"Some of the birds have been found unconscious or staggering and all were reeking of alcohol. They looked terrible. Some have been so poorly they've died.

"Possibly from being exposed to high temperatures after falling unconscious. Others have recovered after a day or so of rest and rehydration.

"They all seem to have ingested some sort of grain - possibly from a brewery - that appears to have made them inebriated.

"But it's odd because enquiries revealed these by-products should only have trace amounts of alcohol left after it's extracted."

WATCH: SEAGULL ATTACKS STOP POSTAL DELIVERIES IN CORNISH STREET


There was one instance of a bird who had consumed too much alcohol that had been left on a beach in Lyme Regis, Dorset. Firefighters were called to rescue an oddly-behaving seagull on a roof, but by the time they arrived it had fallen off and was shaking its head.

Don't worry, seagull. We've been there.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: RSPCA, Weird, UK, Animals

Mischa is a freelance journalist usually based in either New York or London. He has written for Kerrang!, Record Collector, NME, the New York Observer and FLOOD magazine, among others. Contact him at [email protected]