Facemasks pose serious threats to birds, animals

Islamabad : Nature lovers have urged people to cut the straps of the facemasks in half before throwing them away because these straps can cause serious problems for both birds and animals.

They stated that the people needed to rip the strings off their one-time use facemasks so that if it was to end up as litter, the animals and birds would most likely not get tangled up in them.

“It is good to wear a facemask but these are the newest forms of litter that is bad for so many reasons. One of the worst is that the littered facemasks can seriously hurt birds and animals,” said Amir Hussain, a visitor at Trail V.

He said that the elastic straps can tighten around legs of the birds that can prevent them from flying, adding “These straps should be cut in half before disposing of a facemask after which there is a less of a chance it can get tangled around an animal or bird.”

A number of people were seen collecting facemasks that were carelessly thrown away by the visitors at Trail V. This kind of apathy on the part of the visitors will not only increase environmental pollution but also pose serious threats to the birds and wildlife species.

The discarded facemasks are adding to litter and pollution besides hurting and killing wildlife across the world. Various organizations have started campaigns to make people aware of how to properly dispose of facemasks to protect bird and animal species.

Shaista Iqbal, a hiker, said the people should snip the straps of the facemasks before putting them in the bin. This means that if facemasks make their way into the environment, they will be less likely to tangle wildlife.