Seabird Plastic Ingestion and Welfare

Plastic pollution in the ocean causes significant welfare harm to seabirds through ingestion, entanglement and feeding of plastic to chicks.

Key Facts

An estimated 90% of seabird species have ingested plastic, with some species having near 100% prevalence
Plastic ingestion causes a false sense of satiety, reducing food intake and causing malnutrition in chicks
Adult birds feeding plastic to chicks can cause intestinal obstruction, ulceration and death
Some plastics leach toxic chemicals when ingested, adding toxicological harm to physical harm
Fulmar, petrel and shearwater species are particularly severely affected by plastic ingestion

Welfare Considerations

The welfare impacts of plastic ingestion on seabirds are both acute and chronic. Chicks that receive diets high in plastic fragments can starve to death surrounded by food because their stomachs are occupied by indigestible material. Adults with heavy plastic loads show reduced body condition and survival. The scale of this welfare problem is global and affects billions of individual seabird lives.

What You Can Do

Reduce single-use plastic consumption to decrease the amount of plastic entering marine environments
Support extended producer responsibility legislation that holds plastic manufacturers accountable
Participate in beach and coastal clean-up events to remove plastic before it reaches the sea
Support seabird monitoring programmes that track plastic ingestion rates over time
Advocate for international agreements to reduce global plastic pollution