Belgian town organizes Seagull imitation contest

STORY: This coastal town in Belgium is trying

to change the reputation of seagulls

by staging a seagull screeching contest

The noisy birds are often despised

for their intrusive behavior

[Jan Seys, Head of Communication, The Flanders Marine Institute]

'They don’t like them because they dropping things falling all over, they opened little bins, they pick ice creams and sandwiches. And we thought why not getting more sympathy for those seagulls because they are part of the coast. There is no coast without seagulls.'

About 50 entrants were judged on their skills

at imitating screeches and movements

First timer, 21-year-old Yarmo won

the crown for the best seagull sound

[Maren, Contestant, Runner-up]

'So I started practicing and my friends said, 'oh that's so nice. And then they sent me the links of this championship and I thought why not. This is so much fun.'

[Rob, Contestant, Third place]

'Nice result. I think I did the contest like four years ago for the first time, 2019. And I topped just behind the podium back then. So I actually came with the plan to get to the podium and actually, I did it.'