Police demand answers after man punches seagull to death for stealing his food

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Police are requesting help from the public after a tourist reportedly killed a seagull by punching it, apparently because the bird took his Cornish pasty.

The incident reportedly took place on June 10, in St Ives, Cornwall, leaving locals and animal rights activists outraged.

A boat tour guide told The Daily Mail she directly saw the attack happen while on the job.

According to reports, a man was walking with his family when a seagull flew down and snatched his pastry, according to a guide named Rosie Reynolds.

She explained that he simply caught the seagull, held its head, and then struck it forcefully in the chest. He kept it pinned with his arm to prevent it from flying away.

After being hit three or four times, the bird went still and he dropped it to the ground. It was still breathing, but badly injured – its chest was crushed, and it likely didn’t survive for long.

Reynolds and other bystanders scolded the man for his violent behavior, but she reports he responded by insulting her and using offensive language.

Reynolds claimed that the man’s wife also protested her husband’s actions.

A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said they served the man a fish sandwich shortly before the disturbing event happened, according to the Daily Mail.

He remembered the man being very unpleasant. While his wife seemed nice, the man was pushy and insisted on leaving immediately to return to Yorkshire.

Man who punched seagull to death identified online

A witness named Pauly Ford shared a photo of the man on Facebook, describing the attack and asking people to help identify him and contact the police.

Online investigators quickly discovered the man was Jonathan Roberts, also known as Jonny, from Bradford, Yorkshire. The Daily Mail reported that Roberts had previously posted a photo on social media – now removed – showing him wearing the same clothes as in the harbor picture. The post, captioned “Just appreciating time away with my family,” appeared to be from the day of the incident.

Police at Devon and Cornwall are now asking locals for help locating Roberts.

‘We are appealing for witnesses and footage following a report of a seagull being attacked in St Ives,” a spokesperson for the department said.

Devon & Cornwall Police were alerted to an incident reportedly happening on the seafront on Wednesday, June 10th. According to social media posts, a man allegedly punched and injured a seagull.

“Despite posts being widely shared online, the matter was not reported to us by anyone present at the scene.”

Unfortunately, this is just the latest incident of animal abuse from a tourist to spark outrage both locally and online; in May, a 38-year-old man from Seattle, Washington, was arrested after he threw a rock at an endangered Monk Seal in Hawaii, leading to a brutal beatdown from locals and criminal charges of animal harassment.

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2026-06-11 22:54