Marine Plastic and Wildlife Welfare

Marine plastic pollution causes significant welfare harm to marine wildlife through ingestion, entanglement, and chemical exposure. Reducing plastic use protects millions of individual animals.

Key Facts

An estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year
Over 700 species of marine wildlife have been documented ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish — their preferred prey
Seabirds feed plastic to chicks, causing starvation from gut blockage
Ghost fishing gear — lost nets — continues to trap marine animals for years

Welfare Considerations

Marine plastic causes welfare harm in multiple ways: entanglement in fishing gear or plastic rings causes constriction, injury, and drowning; ingestion of plastic bags or fragments causes gut blockage, malnutrition, and internal injury; and microplastics carry toxic chemicals that accumulate in tissues. Each welfare incident represents suffering — the sea turtle slowly strangled by a plastic band, the gannet slowly starving with a gut full of plastic, the seal with fishing line cutting through its neck. This welfare crisis is driven by human plastic production and disposal and is directly addressable through individual and systemic action.

What You Can Do

Dramatically reduce your single-use plastic consumption, particularly items that commonly enter waterways
Participate in beach and waterway clean-up events
Support legislation for extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging
Advocate for ghost gear retrieval programmes and fishing gear marking requirements
Donate to marine conservation organisations working on plastic pollution and wildlife rescue