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 | 03-04-2020 | 03-04-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Braid vets |
2 | 10-04-2020 | 23-04-2020 | Canada | American robin (Turdus migratorius) | Face mask | Entangled | Sandra Denisuk |
3 | Unknown | 14-04-2020 | Poland | Sparrow sp. (Passer sp.) | Gloves | Nest material | Marta Szulkin |
4 | Unknown | 11-05-2020 | U.S.A. | Cat (Felis catus) | Glove | Ingested | ACCT Philly and Art City Vets & Urgent Care |
5 | 03-06-2020 | The paper | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask | Nest material | Marieke Elzinga |
6 | 18-06-2020 | This overview | Germany | White tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) | Face mask | Entangled | Volker Hastädt & Karsten Matschei & Bela Bartel |
7 | Unknown | 01-07-2020 | France | Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) | Face mask | Other: hiding | Opération Mer Propre |
8 | Unknown | 11-07-2020 | U.K. | Mute swan (Cygnus olor) | Face mask | Entangled | David Tudor |
9 | 19-07-2020 | 19-07-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA Essex South |
10 | 19-07-2020 | 24-07-2020 | U.K. | Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) | Face mask | Entangled | Steve Shiley |
11 | Unknown | 22-07-2020 | U.K. | Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) | Face mask | Entangled | South Essex Wildlife Hospital |
12 | Unknown | 22-07-2020 | U.K. | European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) | Glove | Entangled | South Essex Wildlife Hospital |
13 | 31-07-2020 | 31-07-2020 | U.S.A. | Checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus) | Face mask | Entangled | Tiffany Menichetti (Clean this beach up) |
14 | 02-08-2020 | The paper | The Netherlands | Perch (Perca fluviatilis) | Glove | Entrapped | Brandon Hartley and Marie Diamond (Plastic Spotter) |
15 | 24-07-2020 | 05-08-2020 | U.S.A. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Animal Rescue League of Boston |
16 | Unknown | 07-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Roger Lovell |
17 | 11-08-2020 | 11-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Leon Neal |
18 | 11-08-2020 | 11-08-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Carrying | Peter Nicholls |
19 | 31-08-2020 | 01-09-2020 | U.K. | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face Mask | Carrying | Nicholas Hayman |
20 | Unknown | 05-09-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | University of Glasgow’s small animal hospital |
21 | 06-09-2020 | The paper | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask and glove | Nest material | Auke-Florian Hiemstra and Liselotte Rambonnet |
22 | 09-09-2020 | This overview | The Netherlands | Cat (Felis catus) | Face mask | Carrying | D. Wesselius |
23 | Unknown | 14-09-2020 | Italy | Mute swan (Cygnus olor) | Face mask | Other: playing | Paolo Nicolai |
24 | Unknown | 20-09-2020 | Italy | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | Jacopo Casali |
25 | Unknown | 23-08-2020 | Unknown, possibly North-America | Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) | Face mask | Other: unknown | Unknown |
26 | 23-09-2020 | 23-09-2020 | France | Shore crab (Carcinus maenas) | Face mask | Entangled | Opération Mer Propre |
27 | 23-09-2020 | 23-09-2020 | France | Shore crab (Carcinus maenas) | Face mask | Entangled | Opération Mer Propre |
28 | Unknown | 28-09-2020 | Finland | Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) | Face mask | Nest material | Maiju Lehtiniemi |
29 | Unknown | 29-08-2020 | Unknown | Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Other: playing | Unknown |
30 | 11-09-2020 | 15-09-2020 | Brazil | Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) | Face mask | Ingested | Argonauta Institute for Coastal and Marine Conservation |
31 | 30-09-2020 | This overview | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Westport Veterinary Clinic |
32 | Unknown | 09-10-2020 | Unknown | Canada goose (Branta canadensis) | Face mask | Entangled | Unknown |
33 | Unknown | 10-10-2020 | The Netherlands | Serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) | Two face masks | Entangled | Mirjam van Otterlo |
34 | 20-10-2020 | 23-10-2020 | The Netherlands | European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) | Face mask | Entangled | Egelopvang ‘t Stekeltje |
35 | 30-10-2020 | 30-10-2020 | Malaysia | Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) | Face mask | Other: chewing | Mohd Rasfan |
36 | 30-09-2020 | 30-09-2020 | U.S.A. | House finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) | Face mask | Nest material | Whitney Krueger |
37 | 10-2020 | 23-11-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | 2 face masks | Ingested | Betsy Kehoe |
38 | Unknown | 24-11-2020 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Mike Glanton & Zetland Vets Hospital |
39 | 2020 | 2021 | U.K. | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA |
40 | 01-01-2021 | 04-01-2021 | The Netherlands | Gull sp. (Laridae sp.) | Face mask | Entangled | Erwin Kompanje |
41 | 01-01-2021 | 07-01-2021 | The Netherlands | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face mask | Ingested | Janneke van Gerwen |
42 | 14-02-2021 | 17-02-2021 | U.K. | Common merganser (Mergus merganser) | Face mask | Entangled | Maureen Griffiths |
43 | 23-02-2021 | 23-02-2021 | Canada | Herring gull (Larus argentatus) | Face mask | Entangled | Lancy Cheng |
44 | Unknown | 09-03-2021 | Philippines | Coral sp. | Face masks | Entangled | Anilao Scuba Dive Centre |
45 | 04-03-2021 | This overview | Italy | Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) | Face mask | Ingested | Marco Zenatello, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research |
46 | 06-03-2021 | 07-03-2021 | The Netherlands | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | Dierenambulance Noord- en Midden-Drenthe |
47 | 15-03-2021 | This overview | Germany | House mouse (Mus musculus) | Face mask | Nest material | Carsten |
48 | 22-03-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Crow (Corvus corone) | Face mask | Ingesting | Kylian |
49 | Unknown | 25-03-2021 | Ireland | Mute swan (Cygnus olor) | Face mask | Entangled | Marie Purdy |
50 | 26-03-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Crow (Corvus corone) | Face mask | Nest material | E. van Loenen |
51 | 26-03-2021 | This overview | Germany | Pigeon sp. (Columbidae sp.) | Face mask | Entangled | Anni We |
52 | 27-03-2021 | This overview | U.S.A. | Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) | Face mask | Entangled | Jason |
53 | Unknown | 2020 | U.K. | Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | Face mask | Entangled | RSPCA |
54 | 02-04-2021 | 03-04-2021 | Belgium | Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Dirk Blondeel |
55 | 03-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Rob Sevenhuijsen |
56 | 04-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask | Nest material | Lia |
57 | 06-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Black kite (Milvus migrans) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Sven Hensen |
58 | 19-04-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | Face masks | Ingesting | L. Mulder |
59 | 22-04-2021 | 25-04-2021 | The Netherlands | Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) | Face masks | Nest material | Marcel van Kammen |
60 | 01-05-2021 | This overview | India | Sciuridae sp. | Face masks | Nest material | Manmath K Mishra |
61 | Unknown | 06-05-2021 | U.K. | Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | 29 face masks | Ingested | Darren Coyne |
62 | 06-05-2021 | This overview | Scotland | Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) | face mask | Entangled | Kate Fearnley and Maruska Greenwood |
63 | 06-05-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Common coot (Fulica atra) | Face mask | Nest material | Danielle Z |
64 | 11-05-2021 | This overview | The Netherlands | Feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica) | Face mask | Entangled | Femke van Veen |
65 | 18-05-2021 | 19-05-2021 | U.K. | Mute swan (Cygnus olor) | Face mask | Entangled | Cyril Bennis |
66 | 05-06-2021 | 06-06-2021 | Ireland | Puffin (Fraticula arctica) | Face mask | Entangled | Pedro Teixeira |
67 | 20-06-2021 | This overview | U.S.A. | Crow (Corvus corone) | Face mask | Nest material | Monica Ellisor |
68 | 05-07-2021 | This overview | Germany | White stork (Ciconia ciconia) | Face mask | Nest material | Stefan Bosch, NABU |
69 | 09-07-2021 | 16-07-2021 | Namibia | Brown fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus) | Face mask | Entangled | Ocean Conservation Namibia |
70 | 17-07-2021 | 19-07-2021 | U.K. | Herring gull (Larus argentatus) | Face mask | Ingesting | Amy Blackwell |
71 | 08-2021 | 9-2-2022 | Japan | Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) | Face mask | Ingested | Takuya Fukuoaka, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology |
72 | Unknown | 30-08-2021 | U.S.A. | Anhinga (Anhinga ahninga) | Face mask | Entangled | Pelican Harbor Seabird Station |
73 | 25-10-2021 | 26-10-2021 | Barbados | Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) | Face mask | Entangled | Barbados Sea Turtle Project |
74 | 26-10-2021 | This overview | Australia | Brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) | Face mask | Entangled | Juvi |
75 | 15-11-2021 | 15-11-2021 | The Netherlands | Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) | Face mask | Entanglement | Haags ploggâh |
76 | 29-01-2022 | 03-02-2022 | U.S.A. | Common murre (Uria aalge) | Face mask | Entanglement | Kevin Abedini |
77 | Unknown | 23-02-2022 | Australia | Little penguin (Eudyptula minor) | Face mask | Nest material | Miki Perkins |
78 | Unknown | 23-02-2022 | Australia | Australian raven (Corvus coronoides) | Face mask | Entanglement | Miki Perkins |
79 | Unknown | 23-02-2022 | Australia | Australian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) | Face mask (reusable) | Other: carrying | Miki Perkins |
80 | Unknown | 18-03-2022 | Australia | Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) | Face mask | Other: playing | University of Sunshine Coast |
81 | 02-2022 | 18-03-2022 | Australia | Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) | Face mask | Ingested | University of Sunshine Coast |
82 | 07-03-2022 | This overview | The Netherlands | Herring gull (Larus argentatus) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Jaap Bierman |
83 | 11-03-2022 | 11-03-2022 | Australia | Little penguin (Eudyptula minor) | 4 face masks | Nest material | Paula Wasiak |
84 | 18-03-2022 | This overview | The Netherlands | Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) | Face mask | Other: carrying | Liselotte Rambonnet |
85 | 03-2022 | 19-03-2022 | Ireland | Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) | Face mask | Other | Richard T. Mills |
86 | 03-2022 | 20-05-2022 | Tenerife | Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) | Face mask | Ingested | Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety at University Las Palmas de Gran Canaria |