Kenya: Animals are dying for stomach full plastic
Sky World News/Donkeys in Kenya are dying with stomachs full of plastic and other animals are at risk
The smell of sea water and fresh dung fill the oceanfront air on the Kenyan island of Lamu, as donkeys plod along the town’s dock, ferrying residents and cargo. Lamu Old Town is a Unesco world heritage site, known for preserving its Swahili culture. With no cars but nearly 3,000 donkeys on the island, residents rely heavily on the animals for a living and as transport in the narrow, winding streets of the 700-year-old town, one of east Africa’s oldest.
Now, however, increasing numbers of donkeys are dying from eating plastic on the island, and scientists fear many other land animals are also being affected by human plastic pollution.
With little grass to graze on, donkeys browse for food through heaps of plastic bottles, nappies and scraps of cloth dumped by the road.
The owner of one weak and dehydrated baby donkey recently rushed the animal to the Donkey Sanctuary, an animal welfare charity. When vets gave the animal laxatives, they were troubled to find 30cm of knotted plastic wrapped up in its stool.
