Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales and are increasingly found dead with large amounts of plastic waste in their stomachs, causing suffering and death.
Sperm whales with large plastic loads in their stomachs experience progressive obstruction of digestion causing chronic malnutrition and eventual starvation. Stomach rupture from accumulated plastic causes peritonitis and acute pain before death. Plastic accumulation may also create a false sense of satiation preventing adequate feeding. The quantity of plastic found in some individuals suggests months or years of progressive accumulation during which feeding and health are increasingly compromised. The welfare scale is enormous given global ocean plastic distribution.