Marine Animals

Wild Albatross Chick Plastic Feeding

Albatross parents mistakenly feed plastic debris to their chicks, causing gut obstruction and starvation on remote Pacific islands.

Key Facts

Laysan albatross chicks on Midway Atoll contain an average of 45 pieces of plastic
Plastic is fed by parents who mistake floating debris for squid and fish eggs
Gut-blocked chicks cannot process food and die from starvation
Some chicks contain cigarette lighters, bottle caps, and toys in their gut contents

Welfare Considerations

Albatross chicks fed plastic die slowly from starvation with gut contents they cannot digest. The suffering of these remote chicks, invisible to most humans, is caused by plastic pollution entering the Pacific from continents thousands of miles away. Each piece of prevented plastic pollution has a direct welfare beneficiary.

What You Can Do

Eliminate single-use plastic from daily life to reduce ocean plastic input
Support plastic pollution policy and extended producer responsibility legislation
Donate to Midway Atoll wildlife research and restoration programs
Share information about albatross plastic feeding to increase awareness