A deer in Ohio has suffered an unfortunate predicament involving plastic waste, according to Fox 8.
What's happening?
A deer in Summit County, Ohio, lodged its head in a plastic container.
To make matters worse, because the bucket was translucent, the deer was able to see people trying to approach it to remove it or shoot it with a tranquilizer dart.
Wildlife officials warned residents not to approach the deer.
"Every attempt to track and remove it puts stress on these delicate animals and needs to be done with extreme care and knowledge of deer behavior and anatomy," said Ohio Division of Wildlife spokesperson Monika Bowman, per Fox 8. "These animals can and do die from excess stress."
Why is plastic waste important?
Larger pieces of plastic waste can be physical barriers for animals, leading to struggles like this one. Oft-repeated scenarios include birds with plastic can holders stuck around their necks, and turtles with plastic straws stuck in their noses. Ghost netting at sea is a massive issue on this front.
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Proper disposal can help alleviate these kinds of situations, but assuming plastic recycling is ineffective, even plastic in landfills can cause harm to animals.
Over time, plastic degrades into smaller fragments, which end up in waterways. These microplastics end up in the fish we eat, and eventually into humans, which is linked to endocrine disruptions, immune system problems, and infertility.
What's being done about plastic waste?
The most surefire way to prevent plastics from becoming large physical obstructions to animals and a smaller insidious threat in waterways is to prevent plastic use in the first place. After that, it's important to make sure plastic trash doesn't end up as litter.
"Crisis like these can be avoided. Proper disposal of trash and washing out containers that may have food particles in them are an easy way to help avoid these unfortunate situations," said Bowman, per Fox 8. "Buckets, especially ones with handles or smaller openings than bases, like pumpkins around Halloween, easily trap onto animals' heads as they forage and can't be removed by the animals."
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