RSPCA Stubbington Ark to hold litter pick after thousands of animals rescued from being trapped in litter

The RSPCA revealed last year it rescued 4,634 animals caught in litter in England and Wales and the animal charity is determined to change those statistics with clean-up events planned across the country.

The Stubbington Ark’s event, organised by RSPCA Solent Branch, will hold a litter pick on Friday April 5 at 10am.

Campaigns manager Holly Barber said: ‘Every year the RSPCA received thousands of calls about animals caught up in litter. It could be a seal who has deep wounds from old, discarded beach toys, to cats caught up in household rubbish or swans tangled in old fishing hooks.

‘We know every single piece of litter collected will make a huge difference to animals across the whole of the country.’

The RSPCA also advised people to clean and empty food containers before pinching them shut or cutting them in half before putting them in the recycling.

Elastic bands also pose a big risk to small animals and birds as they can wrap around their bodies or beaks and cause choking and other injuries. Bands should be reused where possible or cut open before throwing them away.

Broken glass can cause serious injury and small animals can get trapped in jars and bottles so please clean and recycle glass as much as possible.

Plastic bags can suffocate animals or, if they eat them, can cause them to choke or can block their digestive system and so should be tied in knots before recycling. Plastic can holders can cause deep wounds to animals that get tangled in them or can even choke them so it’s best to cut the loops before discarding.