Brown pelicans and other pelican species suffer serious welfare harm from monofilament fishing line entanglement, which causes wing injuries, starvation, and death on coastlines worldwide.
Pelican monofilament entanglement causes prolonged and serious welfare harm. A bird with line wrapped around its bill cannot feed and slowly starves while appearing otherwise healthy from a distance. Bill injuries from embedded hooks become infected and may prevent full recovery. Wing entanglement cuts off circulation, causing tissue death that necessitates amputation - a welfare outcome incompatible with wild release. These harms are entirely preventable through responsible fishing line disposal. Monofilament recycling programmes and education at fishing access points are highly cost-effective welfare interventions.