Plastic menace: City's stray animals choke on plastic

• Plastic overrun roadsides

Mangaluru: Though Swacch Mangaluru is being implemented in the city, the habit of unchecked discarding of garbage and plastic has not yet been rectified. Due to this irresponsible behavior of humans, garbage and plastic is being consumed by cows, calves, dogs and other stray animals. As a result, it seems as if there is no one concerned of the problems faced by stray animals.

Use of plastic bags has been banned in the city, but this order has not been implemented strictly. Due to this, it has become common for hotels to pack food in plastic bags. Such plastic bags used for packing food are than not discarded properly and instead are disposed whimsically. The innocent cows consume this plastic unknowingly putting their lives at risk.

Dogs, cows and other hungry stray animals are naturally attracted to the haphazardly thrown plastic bags laced with the smell of food and instinctively end up eating the entire plastic bag along with the food in it, if any.  The plastic thus consumed by the animals neither gets digested nor gets expelled from the stomach and ends up amassing within the stomach. Eventually, it leads to various diseases in such animals. In this backdrop, environmentalists have appealed many times with the concerned department to initiate strict action against those who irresponsibly dispose plastic garbage, but to no avail.

Just a few days back, a bull which used to loiter in Baikampady, Panambur area succumbed to horn cancer. When the animal was subjected to postmortem, more than 20 kgs of plastic and metal parts were found in its stomach. It died after getting acquainted to disease by consuming without any hesitation, the irresponsibly disposed plastic bags by the public. It is being said that the tumor found on the horn of the bull was a direct result of its consumption of plastic garbage and things laced with chemicals.

Cleanliness takes a hit

Interlock and concrete have replaced the grass and plants bordering roads and highways in the city. It is normal to see them covered in plastic garbage. Cows in the city have become a rare phenomenon. Stray cows are losing their lives to diseases arising from the consumption of poisonous plastic. Along with this, it is affecting the cleanliness of the city. It seems like the people have forgotten the habit of responsibly disposing of used plastic and other things. The stray animals may be oblivious to this, but the people who haphazardly dispose of plastic and other things at least need to use their common sense.

Plastic ban only for namesake

The ban on the use of plastic bags in the city seems to be only for namesake. All the prominent hotels and shops in city still obsessively indulge in the use of plastic bags. The used plastic is not disposed of properly leading to undesirable problems. If the concerned departments implement strict action, the lives of the helpless stray animals can be saved.

Ban plastic production

“It is indicative that use of plastic damages the environment and is also harmful for the mute innocent animals. The unrestricted use of plastic even when the government’s ban on use of plastic is in place is not a good sign for the development of the city. It is necessary that the production of banned plastic must be banned at its root itself,” said Ekagamyananda Swamiji of Ramakrishna Mission.

Spread awareness

“People need to realize the danger caused by the use of plastic and the harm caused to animal life due to the irresponsible disposal of it.  Other than this, any department trying to spread any amount of awareness on the issue will not be effective,” said Dr S Mohan, Deputy Director, Department of Animal Husbandry.