I too am surprised they still sell them like this, knowing the danger. Good for you for writing in about it. It will be interesting to see their response if you get one
Sarah
Hi there and thanks for sharing your concern over this issue.
Over the years that I have worked in wildlife enquiries I have spoken to many people concerned about mesh bags and have seen the damage these nets can have on wild birds on a number of occasions. When the RSPB realised that mesh bags were a potential threat to wild birds we stopped selling such products and adjusted our advice to warn other sof the dangers. Thankfully many organisations are now starting to sell products without these potential death traps.
Unfortunately, many other organisations have not followed suit and are still using these dangerous and uneccessary plastic mesh wrappers. Not only can they cause injury or worse to wild birds but they are just one more hazardous item of plastic to go into landfill.
Please do write to the manufacturers, retailers and other organisations that are endorsing the products. If you should come across any birds that are entangled in mesh bags, before saving them, if it is possible take a picture and send it to us as this will help us highlight the issue at hand to those that still need to be persuaded.
Hi Lolly
That's fine by me. For your information I have linked below our online shop page where it explains why we do not sell suet balls in mesh bags.
http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/p/Birdfood/Buggy_suet_balls.htm
Well done Lolly, and let us know how you get on.
Thanks for what you are doing Lolly, I wonder if you could post one of your letters and we could all "sign" it as replies? you could then print that out.
Jenni
Nice that someone has taken this up Lolly,I know many folk remove the nets but ethers do not realise the problem exists.Keep us informed on progress and good luck.
Hi Lolly, sorry for not replying sooner, I missed your comments about the poster idea. This is a really good suggestion and one that I can see has potential, I have suggested it to some other departments across the organisation to see if it is something we could look into doing, I can't promise anything more at this stage.
However, keep an eye out in the media over the next week or two as we are going to issue a press release warning of the potential hazards mesh bags can have. If anyone out there has any pictures of birds caught up in mesh bags please send them in so we can use them to help illustrate the dangers.
Best wishes
Well done Lolly, you deserve a medal - or at least a Good Egg.
Thanks Lolly.
Well done from me as well Lolly.
I think what you are doing is excellent and I'm sure if something comes of it we will all be thanking you again.
Viv.