The effects of COVID-19 litter on animal life

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is massively used, resulting in a new wave of litter: protective face masks and gloves Here we present the first case of a fish entrapped in a medical glove, encountered during a canal clean-up in Leiden, The Netherlands We also report the first cases of birds using medical face masks as nesting material, which were also found in the Dutch canals To place these new findings in context, we collected online reported interactions of animals with PPE litter, since the start of the pandemic This resulted in the first overview of cases of entanglement, entrapment and ingestion of COVID-19 litter by animals and the use of it as nesting material We signal COVID-19 litter as a new threat to animal life as the materials designed to keep us safe are actually harming animals around us To understand the full scale of this problem, we welcome anyone to contribute to our overview by submitting their observations online at www covidlitter com To further prevent PPE litter, it is recommended that, when possible, reusable alternatives are used [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Animal Biology is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder s express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )