Pregnant whale found dead with 49 pounds of plastic in its stomach
By Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN
Updated 1 hr ago | Posted on Apr 1, 2019
The carcass of a pregnant sperm whale that washed up in Sardinia, Italy, last week had 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of plastic in its stomach, and was carrying a dead fetus, the country's environment minister and a marine life non-profit organization said.
Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN the beached mammal's remains contained "garbage bags ... fishing nets, lines, tubes, the bag of a washing machine liquid still identifiable, with brand and barcode ... and other objects no longer identifiable."
"She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached," he said. "The fetus was in an advanced state of composition."
The dead animal, which was eight meters (26 feet) long, washed up on a beach in the Sardinian tourist hotspot of Porto Cervo.
Bittau said the cause of death would be known after histological and toxicological examinations carried out by veterinarians in Padua, northern Italy.
Sergio Costa, Italy's environment minister, said in a Facebook post: "Are there still people who say these are not important problems? For me they are, and they are priorities."
"We've used the 'comfort' of disposable objects in a lighthearted way in the past years and now we are paying the consequences. Indeed the animals, above all, are the ones paying them," he continued.
Costa also referred to the recent approval by the European Parliament of a law banning a wide-range of single-use plastic items, such as straws, cotton buds and cutlery, by 2021.
"Italy will be one of the first countries to implement it," he promised. "The war on disposable plastic has begun. And we won't stop here."
Last month, a young whale was found dead in the Philippines with 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of plastic bags in its stomach.
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This article is disheartening! I have read many articles just like this one over the last couple of years.
I use a refillable glass containers. I crocheted a same size water bottle holder with a long strap to carry on my shoulder. I avoid plastic water bottles as much as possible. I also am a huge believer of recycling. I sometimes wish we could go back to glass bottles, like when I was younger and beverages were from glass bottles. I remember my Dad drinking PBR beer from a case of bottles. He put the bottles back in the flip top box they came in and took them back to the liquor store when he was done with them. Recycling them and probably getting a little less off his next purchase. Glass is safer to drink beverages out of. Plastic when warm leaches back into the water and food that we drink and eat from.
There may be a problem with this method also, but growing up camping, I never really saw glass bottles thrown in the woods. Not like you see plastic water bottles today and plastic bags in those places. After the rains, you find so much plastic washed up on land and in the water. I see it after it rains every single time just in Arcadia Trail Park, alone. I see it with aluminum cans as well. I know glass weighs more and they are not fun to lug around like the lighter stuff now a days. These methods also use more gas and energy for deliveries and probably for making them.
With plastic grocery bags, we end up with a car full of bags with one or two items in each one or they are doubled bagged. I use the tote cloth bags. I get more in them and I don t have to worry about losing my groceries when carrying them to and from my car. If we are going to remain a "disposable generation", we have to care and pick up after ourselves to keep all this from reaching creeks, lakes and oceans and many more places. I have been cleaning Arcadia Park for years. I know sooner clean along the disc golf course and when walking back through, I find plastic bottles and beer cans in the spot I just cleaned. Adults are littering! It is not just the kids. . They probably think to themselves, one water bottle or beer can won t hurt. Well, if just a few more people think the same thing, we end up with a park full of litter. I have always preached this to our sons while they were growing up. I still do and they are adults.
We need to be more accountable for the trash that even ends up in front our homes and yards. Though it may not be our trash, pick it up anyway. Don t let it go down the street or have a chance to blow away, becoming someone else's problem. ✌🏻