Plastic bags kill thousands of sea creatures annually
To the editor:
Yet another marine mammal-this time a dolphin calf-has been found with a stomach full of plastic. The small dolphin was found on Fort Myers Beach, far from her deep-water home. Her stomach contained plastic bags and a shredded balloon. She was emaciated and in such poor shape that rescue workers were forced to euthanized her.
Rebecca Hosking, maker of the documentary Hawaii: Message in the Waves, has pointed out that plastic bags can remain in our oceans for years, and that more than 100,000 birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and other marine animals die every year after they mistake floating plastic bags for food and eat them.
We can help save animals and protect the environment simply by using reusable tote bags rather than single-use bags and by not releasing balloons into the air. We can also reduce pollution-and be kind to animals-by not fishing or eating fish and other sea animals, since abandoned fishing nets make up at least 46 percent of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating pile of trash that’s three times the size of France.
See www.PETA.org for more information and tips on what you can do to help marine animals and our oceans.
Heather Moore
PETA Foundation