Man in court accused of ‘placing his penis inside seagull’s mouth’

A man who allegedly put his penis in a seagull’s beak, causing significant suffering to the bird, is set to stand trial on Tyneside.

David Lee appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Friday (February 17) charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The bizarre offence is alleged to have taken place in Sunderland on Thursday, August 18, 2022.

Prosecutors told the court that Lee, 39: “Unreservedly did an act [where] he took a wild bird, forced it down, and placed his penis in its mouth, whereby causing unnecessary suffering to that animal."

Lee, who was dressed in a navy raincoat and jeans, has entered a plea of not guilty, reports Chronicle Live.

He was granted unconditional bail until his trial at a later date.

While seagulls seem fairly plentiful, and are regarded as a pest by many people in the UK, all species of gull are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

The act makes it illegal to intentionally or recklessly injure or kill any gull or damage or destroy an active nest or its contents.

Intentionally killing or injuring a seagull is a criminal offence and offences against wildlife carry a penalty fine of up to £5,000 or even, in some extreme cases, a jail term.

Tony Randerson is a Labour councillor in Scarborough, which is just one UK town plagued by scavenging seagulls.

He says that misguided people feeding the birds has led to the problem: “That’s the main problem. It’s the humans that are to blame, it’s not the seagulls’ fault.

“It’s quite a stupid act to feed them. They need to be aware it’s quite irresponsible. It’s fuelling the seagulls’ need to eat human food.”

He added: “It’s something we need to control. They just come down and snatch the food. It can be quite frightening…”

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