Covid face masks devastating bird populations around the world

Covid face masks devastating bird populations around the world(telegraph.co.uk)

11 points by bananapear 3 years ago | 6 comments

lapcat 3 years ago |

Astonishing that the word "littering" was not mentioned even once in the article, as if masks could just crawl into the open on their own volition.

roey2009 3 years ago |

Colour me surprised. I remember back in 2020, pictures of beaches covered in discarded masks. In summary, Humans as usual.

lathiat 3 years ago |

https://flomask.com/

Reusable. Seals properly. Incredible breathability. Doesn’t hurt your ears.

Main downside is speech is not the most amazing. You also get a bit of condensation.

Love mine. Also cuts the waste and has no elastic to trap the birds

GekkePrutser 3 years ago | |

If it had a fan for unrestricted breathing it'd be great. The hot and humid air building up is what I hate about facemasks. I had some very bad experiences in the past where I nearly choked so it's a bit traumatic.

Unfortunately they're still required here in public transport. I've been looking for some fan -supported models but the only one I found is the LG and that's too front heavy.

GekkePrutser 3 years ago |

That's sad. Time to drop the mask mandates, it's really annoying that here in Spain they're still mandatory in public transport.

I always dispose of my masks in the trash of course but it has happened once or twice that one flew out of my pocket in the wind. It happens..

lapcat 3 years ago | |

Accidents happen of course, but I'm personally skeptical that the occasional accidents are responsible for the majority of masks "in the wild", as opposed to intentional littering, e.g., dropping the mask on the ground when someone walks out of a building.

Whatever your opinion of masks, I don't think that public health policy should be determined by whether people are littering. We should take measures to stop littering in any case. Also, I see no reason to prioritize bird health over human health (though we generally shouldn't have to choose one or the other).