Harmful Effects of Plastic on Animals

Introduction
Plastic pollution has a direct and deadly effect on
wildlife. Thousands of marine animals are killed each
year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in
it.Humans invented plastic and animals are harmed by it.
Plastic pollution occured so rapidly that animals were
unable to adapt this new material.

Effects:
● ANIMALS GETTING STUCK IN PLASTIC

Getting stuck in plastic can have horrible consequences

for the animals such as reduced mobility, starvation,
drowning or suffocation. It can lead to infections,
growths or amputation of limbs. Animals stuck in plastic
become less capable of finding food and also become
easy victims for predators.

● ECOSYSTEMS POLLUTION

Plastic pollution causes a threat to marine ecosystems.

Species, both plants and animals, adapt to their
environment. A new natural balance is created time and
time again. Plastic in the environment upsets that
balance. Plastic pollution has arisen in just a few
decades and is increasing rapidly. Animal species simply
haven’t had the chance to learn how to deal with it.
 ● PLASTIC IN FOOD CHAIN

Plastic has already entered the food chain. Animals

carry microplastics in their bodies. When they are
themselves eaten, those microplastics are also ingested.
Since one animal eats another, microplastics can move
through the food chain.When plastic ends up in the
environment, it tends to bind with environmental
pollutants. With plastic that moves through the food
chain, the attached toxins can also move and
accumulate in animal fat and tissue . In addition,
chemicals are often added to plastic during the
production process, to give them some desired
properties. These chemicals can in turn leak from the
plastic and harm our body.

● ANIMALS EAT PLASTIC

Animals that accidentally eat plastic suffer and often

die as a result of it. Swallowed plastic fills the stomach
and this reduces the feeling of hunger. Animals eat less,
obtain less energy, and get weaker. Larger pieces of
plastic can also block their digestive tract so that the
plastic can no longer be excreted. In other cases,
plastic is ground into small pieces in the stomach and
then scattered everywhere.