During the COVID-19 pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is massively used, resulting in a new wave of litter: protective face masks and gloves. These products that are designed to keep us safe, are actually harming animals around us. Here we present the first overview of all cases of entanglement, entrapment, and ingestion of COVID-19 litter, as well as the inclusion of gloves and face masks in bird nests. If you find any new interactions online or observe them yourself, please share your observation below.
Share your (online) observation!
Nature photographers, wildlife rescue centers, litter pickers, google detectives and social media heroes, we encourage everyone to share observations of animals interacting with PPE litter like entanglement, ingestion, entrapment, carrying PPE litter, playing with it or using it as nesting material. Feel free to add your own observations or add new examples - from your local or national news, or social media - that are currently missing in the global overview. Let us know!
| Date of observation | Date of online report | Country | Species name | PPE item | Observation | Observer or reporter |
1 | 10-04-2020 | 23-04-2020 | Canada | American robin (Turdus migratorius) | Face mask | Entangled | Sandra Denisuk |
2 | Unknown | 14-04-2020 | Poland | Sparrow sp. (Passer sp.) | Gloves | Nest material | Marta Szulkin |
3 | Unknown | 11-05-2020 | U.S.A. | Cat (Felis catus) | Glove | Ingested | ACCT Philly and Art City Vets & Urgent Care |
4 | 03-06-2020 | This paper | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask | Nest material | Marieke Elzinga |
5 | 18-06-2020 | This overview | Germany | White tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) | Face mask | Entangled | Volker Hastädt & Karsten Matschei & Bela Bartel |
6 | Unknown | 01-07-2020 | France | Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) | Face mask | Other: hiding | Opération Mer Propre |
7 | 19-07-2020 | 19-07-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA Essex South |
8 | 19-07-2020 | 24-07-2020 | U.K. | Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) | Face mask | Entangled | Steve Shiley |
9 | Unknown | 22-07-2020 | U.K. | Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) | Face mask | Entangled | South Essex Wildlife Hospital |
10 | Unknown | 22-07-2020 | U.K. | European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) | Glove | Entangled | South Essex Wildlife Hospital |
11 | 31-07-2020 | 31-07-2020 | U.S.A. | Checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus) | Face mask | Entangled | Tiffany Menichetti (Clean this beach up) |
12 | 02-08-2020 | This paper | The Netherlands | Perch (Perca fluviatilis) | Glove | Entrapped | Brandon Hartley and Marie Diamond (Plastic Spotter) |
13 | 24-07-2020 | 05-08-2020 | U.S.A. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Animal Rescue League of Boston |
14 | Unknown | 07-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Roger Lovell |
15 | 11-08-2020 | 11-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Leon Neal |
16 | 11-08-2020 | 11-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Peter Nicholls |
17 | 31-08-2020 | 01-09-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face Mask | Carrying | Nicholas Hayman |
18 | Unknown | 05-09-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | University of Glasgow’s small animal hospital |
19 | 06-09-2020 | This paper | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask and glove | Nest material | Auke-Florian Hiemstra and Liselotte Rambonnet |
20 | Unknown | 14-09-2020 | Italy | Mute swan (Cygnus olor) | Face mask | Other: playing | Paolo Nicolai |
21 | Unknown | 20-09-2020 | Italy | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | Jacopo Casali |
21 | Unknown | 23-08-2020 | Unknown, possibly North-America | Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) | Face mask | Other: unknown | Unknown |
23 | 23-09-2020 | 23-09-2020 | France | Shore crab (Carcinus maenas) | Face mask | Entangled | Opération Mer Propre |
24 | 23-09-2020 | 23-09-2020 | France | Shore crab (Carcinus maenas) | Face mask | Entangled | Opération Mer Propre |
25 | Unknown | 29-08-2020 | Unknown | Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Other: playing | Unknown |
26 | 11-09-2020 | 15-09-2020 | Brazil | Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) | Face mask | Ingested | Argonauta Institute for Coastal and Marine Conservation |
27 | 30-09-2020 | This overview | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Westport Veterinary Clinic |
28 | Unknown | 09-10-2020 | Unknown | Canada goose (Branta canadensis) | Face mask | Entangled | Unknown |
29 | Unknown | 10-10-2020 | The Netherlands | Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) | Two face masks | Entangled | Mirjam van Otterlo |
30 | 20-10-2020 | 23-10-2020 | The Netherlands | European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) | Face mask | Entangled | Egelopvang ‘t Stekeltje |
31 | 30-10-2020 | 30-10-2020 | Malaysia | Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) | Face mask | Other: chewing | Mohd Rasfan |
32 | Unknown | 24-11-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Mike Glanton & Zetland Vets Hospital |
33 | 2020 | 2021 | U.K. | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA |
34 | 01-01-2021 | 04-01-2021 | The Netherlands | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Entangled | Erwin Kompanje |
35 | 01-01-2021 | 07-01-2021 | The Netherlands | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Janneke van Gerwen |
36 | 23-02-2021 | 23-02-2021 | Canada | Herring gull (Larus argentatus) | Face mask | Entangled | Lancy Cheng |
37 | Unknown | 09-03-2021 | Philippines | Coral sp. | Face masks | Entangled | Anilao Scuba Dive Centre |
38 | 04-03-2021 | This overview | Italy | Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) | Face mask | Ingested | Marco Zenatello, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research |
39 | 06-03-2021 | 07-03-2021 | The Netherlands | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | Dierenambulance Noord- en Midden-Drenthe |
40 | 22-03-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Crow (Corvus corone) | Face mask | Ingesting | Kylian |
41 | 27-03-2021 | This overview | U.S.A. | Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) | Face mask | Entangled | Jason |
42 | Unknown | 2020 | U.K. | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA |
43 | 02-04-2021 | 03-04-2021 | Belgium | Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Dirk Blondeel |
44 | 03-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Rob Sevenhuijsen |
45 | 04-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask | Nest material | Lia |