To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Thai Whale Died After Swallowing Up To 80 Plastic Bags

Thai Whale Died After Swallowing Up To 80 Plastic Bags

Researchers said the pilot whale suffered a brutal death because its stomach was blocked by up to 8kgs of plastic bags

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

If you missed Blue Planet II, then you managed to avoid the heart-breaking scene of a mother pilot whale nursing her dead calf.

The nature documentary series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, was full of references to how plastic is ruining our oceans, both visually and ecologically.

Well here's just another example of how our carelessness with plastic finding its way into the sea is affecting wildlife. A pilot whale was located in waters off Thailand and appeared to be struggling to breathe.

People waded into the sea in the Songkhla province and started vomiting up plastic bags, but sadly it died. It was later found that the whale had up to 80 bags, weighing around 8kg, in its stomach - which is not only shocking but infuriating.

People tried to get the whale to the shore to get the plastic out but it didn't work.
Getty

Having that amount of plastic inside its body meant that it couldn't digest anything nutritional and likely had a painful fucking death.

You know what it's like when you're so full it hurts? Well, imagine that - but you slowly die because you can't eat anymore.

Another tough scene to swallow from Blue Planet II, was seeing the carcass of an albatross in Georgia, filled with bits of plastic that the animal had mistaken for food.

Dr Lucy Quinn worked on the project for the BBC documentary and she said: "The chicks get the plastic from their parents, and the parents will have fed on the plastic when out at sea.

"It's awful to think that the parent will have spent potentially up to a fortnight feeding at sea, travelling thousands of miles from the nest, only to bring back plastic in amongst any fish or squid items it managed to find."

According to the BBC, Thailand is looking at whether to install a levy on plastic bags on account of them killing so much marine life every year.

As the global war against plastic rages on, in a groundbreaking move Chile is set to become the first nation to completely ban plastic bags.

Santiago-based newspaper La Tercera reports that the Senate approved a bill that would prohibit and replace plastic bags, with 38 votes in favour of the plan.

PA

The initiative was initially aimed only at the Patagonia area, but was later extended to apply to the entire nation.

According to La Tercera, the idea will now move into its third stage, which takes it to the Chamber of Deputies.

If it is passed, the law will be put into action within one year of its announcement. In the meantime, supermarkets and shops will have to adhere to a strict rule that means they're only allowed to give out two plastic bags to consumers for each purchase they make.

LADbible has claimed the world's first country made entirely of trash to highlight the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Get involved and ensure the world's first country made of trash is its last.

Become a citizen of the Trash Isles here.

Donate to our charity partner, Plastic Oceans Foundation here.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Feels, Whale, Thailand, Animals