FOI REF: FOI-2023-1222
You asked
Please can I request data pertaining to the annual number of deaths in humans related to seagull attacks in England and Wales from 2000 to 2022? This can relate to direct physical attacks or even heart attacks brought on by the stress of dealing with aggressive seagulls.
We said
Thank you for your request.
We produce statistics for deaths which occur in England and Wales, using the information provided during the registration of a death. Cause of death is coded using version 10 of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).
From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
- the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death,
or
- the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury.
The cause of death is usually more specific to the circumstances of the death rather than where it occurred or the potential influence of natural factors such as seagulls being in the vicinity of the deceased. We do not have a specific ICD-10 code for seagull attacks, however if a death occurred due to exposure of being pecked by a bird, we would use ICD-10 code W64 Exposure to other and unspecified animate mechanical forces.
The interactive webservice NOMIS will provide deaths in England and Wales where W64 is the underlying cause of death, however we cannot ascertain if these deaths involved seagulls or other animate forces.
If you wish to extract this information, please see the following instructions:
Select Query data.
Select Mortality data.
Select period -- 2013 to 2021
Select the geography (England and Wales, regional or by local authority).
Select Age -- All ages or 5-year age bands.
Select Sex -- Total or Male/Female
Select rates -- All deaths, rates or percentage of population for example.
Select cause of death (ICD10 code search is available). Type W64
Select format (Excel or CSV for example)
2022 data will be available in NOMIS in October/November 2023.
For more historic data, this is available in our 21st Century Mortality Dataset.
For further information please contact Health.data@ons.gov.uk.