Postal bands are killing our ducks

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpoo ... -22579673/

Dec 31 2008 by Kevin Core, Liverpool Echo

POSTAL workers’ red elastic bands are a growing danger to ducks.

The RSPCA said officers are increasingly coming across birds who are starving because they have become entangled in the bands.

The bird in these pictures was found in Birkenhead in a seriously ill condition. (there are no pictures)

The red elastic bands used to hold letters and parcels together were recently reported as being in the top five of litter problems.

Jon Littlewood, RSPCA collection worker for the whole of Cheshire, said:“I don’t think people who drop them are aware of the harmful affect they can have on wildlife.

“But, the bands are becoming a regular hazard of the job.

“Around once a month we find a duck which has pecked at the band and once it’s in the beak it can loop over the back of the head - staying trapped in the beak but pulling the head back.

“This prevents them from feeding so by the time we get to them they can be in a bad way.”

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: “Our people know they shouldn't drop rubber bands, we issue regular reminders on our policy for re-using them and we recycle the vast majority of the many millions of bands that we use.

“The bands, which are red so they can easily be spotted, are bio-degradable and they do rot away naturally over time.

“Royal Mail is, or course, concerned at any distress or nuisance caused by discarded bands and we will certainly look into any individual cases brought to our attention and again remind our people to take extra care to avoid dropping bands.”

[Wild Cat]

This may be caused by children who constantly ask posties for rubber bands,I stopped giving them out years ago as you can guarantee that you will find them all over the floor the next day after you have given them to kids.

Also when you get a runner covering your rest day you find that there are rubber bands all over your walk and you then have to wait until you get a less busy day and pick them up as you go along.

[andy2007]

This may be caused by children who constantly ask posties for rubber bands,I stopped giving them out years ago as you can guarantee that you will find them all over the floor the next day after you have given them to kids.

Also when you get a runner covering your rest day you find that there are rubber bands all over your walk and you then have to wait until you get a less busy day and pick them up as you go along.

It's also possible that they are dropping out of the Postie's pocket. I don't know about you, but things often fall out of my Work Coat pocket. Which never happened with the old Harrington Jackets.