Plastic entanglement is a growing welfare crisis for seabirds worldwide, with fishing line, six-pack rings, and netting causing injury, impaired flight and feeding, and death.
Plastic entanglement causes prolonged suffering - birds may drag entangled material for days or weeks, suffering lacerations, restricted movement, impaired foraging, and eventual death from starvation or drowning. The welfare impact is compounded by the difficulty of treating wild seabirds without causing additional handling stress.