The Balloon release is very dangerous for animals. Be aware that the balloon you through away can harm thousands of animals. One morning in Texas, The patrol member with Turtle Island Restoration Network, Justin Williams, was walking on a beach in Surfside. Then, he saw something existing right beside the ocean.
So, he approached it and noticed that it was a young Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. Moreover, the turtle was tangled with a thick clump balloon strings around her neck. A red balloon was hanged.
“She was pretty worn out,” Williams said. “Sadly, there were quite a few balloons out there on the beach … I also found a dead pelican wrapped in them.”
Williams immediately cut the strings and took the injured turtle to a local turtle rescue center. She will survive, but will always suffer from the ring of scars on her neck that happened after being tangled for probably years.
Sadly, this turtle is just one of many animals to be a victim of this unusual kind of litter. It’s popular to be let out into the air during parties, balloons make their ways into ocean Moreover, hurt or kill marine animals.
A recent report from Ocean Conservancy has ranked balloons as one of the top three deadliest forms of litter, only behind discarded fishing nets and plastic bags.
However, when balloons pop, the pieces can seem similar to jellyfish or other fish that sea turtles eat. The ribbons can also become wrapped around animals as they swim in the water. This might prevent them ability from moving or eating freely.
“It’s common for turtles to be found emaciated, sick or dead, only to find out later after X-rays or a necropsy that they’ve ingested a balloon,” Nick Mallos, Trash Free Seas program director for Ocean Conservancy, told The Dodo. “Fragments or even balloons with the ribbons still attached have been found in their GI tracts.”
Even if balloons are far away from oceans, they usually end up there. They also get tangled in trees, where they can harm birds and other forest animals.
“Balloons have been found to travel hundreds, even thousands of miles,” Mallos said. “There have even been reports of balloons released in the UK ending up in Australia and Hong Kong. People’s intentions may be to celebrate something, but it’s really a point of pollution.”