Okay, Ender Wiggin.

I don't think so. It's my food and if a seagull comes in to steal it it's getting smacked away. It is the way of life. You think a different animal would let a seagull steal its food? I doubt it. And my benevolence only stretches so far.

Oh, absolutely.

Beating it to death is 'overkill' though if your intention was simply to 'make it sorry'.

Tbh, reading this thread it seems like a lot of people don't feel able to pull their punch accurately enough to both make a seagull regret taking your food and not injure it in the process.

I mean, if you're really angry, and you've physically caught it, what's wrong with screaming in it's face then throwing it into the air. It'll be off like a bat out of hell after that.

But at the end of the day, it's a bit of food, not even worth doing the above either but I guess it depends on your anger management skills.

No, its a message to its friends.

Okay. You've convinced me!

Wow, that got dark quick. From fuck seagulls to genocide in the blink of an eye.

See, this guy gets it. [Fist bump]

True. The nonironic bag limit is 0

I'm not an ornithologist and have no idea how many species of gulls there are or whether they're all protected, but yes a number of gulls, if not all, are protected in the US by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 plus various amendments. There's a list here:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-10/subpart-B/section-10.13

As someone from Florida, this is a true, but once you have been the victim of, or seen families become victims of, a swarm of these assholes, you can understand people reacting violently. As another commenter said: I disagree, but I understand. For me personally, when I would go to the beach, if I saw 30+ seagulls sitting on the beach, I'd tell the kids "sorry, not today" and we'd leave. They are that bad.

Exactly! Are fucking rats protected under federal law now too?

I ran. I ran so far away.

In seattle seagulls are rain forcasters. When you hear their cries, rain is usually on the way within an hour or two.

The what now?

So killing sea gulls is fine because you personally don't like them.

I don't like you very much, do i now get a go at you? Come on, that is dumb reasoning

It would depend on the situation I think. We just have a story to go on here and no direct awareness of the events as they unfolded. In your scenarios there's a different degree and intent in actions and reactions. But if I had to put down some general morality I would probably settle on equal, non excessive, reactions to establish personal boundaries. This entirely depends on the individual subjects though. One could have neurological or intellectual disorders for example.