Wildlife

Seabird Welfare and Plastic Ingestion

Seabirds mistake plastic debris for food, causing chronic malnutrition and mortality across hundreds of species.

Key Facts

Over 90% of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs
Plastic ingestion causes starvation, internal injury, and toxic contamination
Procellariiformes (petrels and albatrosses) are particularly affected
Parents feed plastic to chicks, compounding intergenerational harm

Welfare Considerations

Seabirds with plastic-filled stomachs experience false satiation and starvation as plastic occupies stomach space without providing nutrition. Internal perforations from sharp plastic cause internal bleeding. Toxic chemical leaching from plastics accumulates in tissues. Parent birds regurgitate plastic to chicks, causing chick mortality at alarming rates.

What You Can Do

Eliminate single-use plastic from your daily life
Participate in beach and coastal cleanup events
Support legislation banning problematic single-use plastics
Advocate for extended producer responsibility for plastic waste