THE Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife says the littering is a major concern for the organisation. Their comments come following numerous cases of bird injuries in which the animals were found with discarded objects lodged in their beaks.
According to CROW’s junior clinic nurse, Tayla Hawkins there is a common misconception regarding littering. Hawkins said many people think litter is just product which can cause environmental harm. However more than half of the animals killed is due to food items which are thrown out of car windows.
Recently a pelican that was caught by a long line fishing trawler in Isipingo Beach. One of the fisherman jumped into the water to rescue the bird and brought it to the centre.
In 2013 a young, male spur-winged goose was found with a beer can lodged around its lower beak at the Amanzimtoti bird sanctuary and taken to CROW in Durban where it later died.
“Just because an item may be biodegradable does not mean it cannot cause harm. Animals run into the road to collect these easily accessible items and are often hit by cars,” she said.