Balloon Litter Impacts to Land Animals
Balloon litter is known to pose problems for terrestrial animals, including livestock and horses.
In addition to threats of entanglement and ingestion, balloons have also been documented to cause animals to panic which may result in injury.
For example, in 2011, a farmer in Kent, UK was awarded compensation after his 13-month old bull choked to death on a balloon released from a nearby primary school (The Telegraph, 2011).
Other examples include:
A colony of flamingos in Carmargue, France was disrupted when a balloon landed in their nesting site. This led to reproductive failure of the colony as it caused the flamingos to abandon their nests (Béchet, Thibault & Boutron, 2017).
A Facebook post from American Cattlemen showed a photo of a red foil balloon that had been removed from the mouth of a calf. The cattlemen mention that cattle, especially young ones, will eat anything (American Cattlemen, 2017).
A show horse worth £15,000 died after it swallowed a balloon string, and in a panic, ran through two fences, breaking two legs and its neck (French, 2017).
An article in Outdoor California describes the issue of balloon ingestion by southern California’s bighorn sheep. Bighorn sheep, designated as a fully protected species in California, are often found deceased with latex balloon fragments in their digestive tracts. “We have found everything from small latex fragments to entire balloon bouquets completely impacting the animals’ digestive tracts,” says Jeff Villepique, a Department of Fish and Game associate wildlife biologist (Barboza, 2010).
A newborn lamb in the UK was found with a balloon and ribbon entangled around its neck and foot. The balloon had traveled more than 40 miles from a Marks & Spencer store. The lamb survived its encounter and the store chain made a commitment to stop the use of promotional balloons (Daily Mail Reporter, 2008).
Laughing gull (Larus atricilla) hanging from a powerline with a balloon ribbon. There is a latex balloon at the other end of the ribbon.
Image by Pamela Denmon, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Northeast Region.
Most of the osprey chick’s nest in this image is filled with balloons and ribbons. Image by Ben Wurst., Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ
The horse in the picture is (then) 2.5 year old filly Alexandria's Angel, taken in May 2020 on the Maryland side of Assateague Island National Seashore. Luckily, she dropped it, but balloons are a real threat to horses, especially when the strings get tangled in the grass they eat. Even more so because unlike most species, horses can't really vomit except in rare cases. Photo by Cat Volmer.
A pony on Assateague Island in Virginia with balloon ribbon hanging from its mouth. Photo by Penny Bowles Sperry.
Bighorn sheep entangled in balloon ribbon. Image courtesy of California Dept of Fish & Game.
Horse with balloon and ribbons caught in mane. (https://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Horse-injured-after-balloon-gets-tangled-in-mane-482733591.html)
Cow ingested balloon. (https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20180426/282741997408596)
