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#63600
Haha! It's all harmless BS maybe even useful. I used to guide for Europeans who were fond of smoking cigarettes and flicking their butts on the ground. I told them that small mammals love salt and could taste the salt from their lips on the butts and would eat them and die.

No idea if this is true but the first group swallowed it whole and stopped tossing their butts right away. So I used it on the all the other groups too. Whatever works.
#63614
Okay, so you say it's BS. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. I can't imagine it's good for small birds to ingest gum.

Anyway, true or not, people should dispose of their chewing gum properly.
#63619
This was the reply on Snopes:

"My wife says that if you throw gum on the street, a bird will eat the gum and die from it. Will a bird attempt to eat the gum?"

For the answer, we took Jerry's question to several Central Pennsylvania wildlife experts, who deal with different species of birds.

In one response, ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA) Director Troy Stump responded via email with the following:

"After careful consideration and discussion among our zoo staff, Here is our conclusion. Chewing gum, in and of itself, is not and would not be a fatal substance for a bird to ingest and may draw some birds' interest. However, there are many variables, and we know better than to say anything could never happen. It is conceivable that a very small bird could attempt to eat a very large piece of gum. Obviously anything that might be large enough to lodge in an airway, be it bird or human, can be a problem."

Also answering Jerry's question, was Ern Tobias of Lake Tobias Wildlife Park near Halifax, Dauphin County. Speaking to CBS 21 News over the phone, he said this about his experience with birds and gum ... and monkeys:

"The birds we have here at the park, it's unlikely that they would even try to eat it. They might peck at it once or twice, and realize it's not something they want to eat. We've never had a bird die from eating gum.

"The monkeys on the other hand, they do pick up gum and eat it, unfortunately. But just like some people swallow gum, I've never seen it hurt the monkeys, either."

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader ... kBJBt8c.99
#63635
The real worry is plastic bags
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and plastic bottles (because they're capped)
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and random plastics
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If I throw my garbage out of the window of my car, or put in it a bin, it really makes no difference... I can put it on the ground, or I can pay the city to take it to cache creek and put it on the ground. It really bothers me that everything I throw away is either killing a plant, or killing a sentient being. Everyday we use something that needs disposing, which means that EVERYDAY WE KILL SOMETHING.

Someone pls tell me I am wrong. I would love so much to be wrong!
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