Arosa: Six Kilos of Plastic Waste Found in a Stag's Stomach
In Arosa, wildlife wardens culled a stag with six kilograms of plastic waste in its stomach. Bird netting, gloves, and cords were the cause of death.
It is not only marine animals that swallow the waste of civilisation: in the Graubünden holiday resort of Arosa, wildlife wardens culled a stag whose stomach was found to contain six kilograms of plastic waste.
The animal had been lured into the villages of Arosa and Langwies by compost heaps, bird feeders, and other food sources. Due to its behaviour, the stag became a safety risk. Wildlife wardens therefore culled it in early December, as the Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fisheries announced on Tuesday.
During the examination of the carcass, six kilograms of plastic waste were discovered: plastic gloves, cords, bird feeder nets, and much more. According to the authorities, some of the remains found had been inside the animal's body for years; the stag weighed less than deer of the same age normally do.
The stag appears with the snow
The waste discovered inside the stag is attributable to a behaviour well known in Graubünden among wildlife . As soon as the first snow has fallen, deer cross roads and appear in villages and settlements, drawn in by feeding stations.
Plastic can no longer be excreted
But the tempting offering can have fatal consequences. Along with the food that is put out, the animals also ingest pieces of plastic and other waste that can no longer be excreted. Added to this is the fact that the deer lose their natural shyness and no longer flee from humans.
The Graubünden Office for Hunting and Fisheries therefore emphasises that the cantonal Hunting Act prohibits active and passive wildlife feeding.
