Zoos Victoria a finalist for anti-balloon campaign

A ZOOS Victoria and Phillip Island Nature Parks campaign encouraging people to replace balloons with wildlife-friendly bubbles at outdoor events has been named a finalist in the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

The When Balloons Fly, Seabirds Die campaign, launched in 2017, is a finalist in the Environmental Protection category for increasing awareness of how balloons and their attachments can end up in waterways and oceans, harming precious wildlife.

An estimated 650 marine species are known to interact with plastic debris.

Seabirds are particularly vulnerable to balloons and their attachments, which present entanglement and ingestion risks.

Zoos Victoria CEO Dr Jenny Gray said more than 130,000 Victorians had already shown their support for wildlife by signing up to the When Balloons Fly campaign.

“We love balloons, but when they’re used outdoors, they end up in waterways and oceans around Australia,” Dr Gray said.

“They harm seabirds, such as the Flesh-footed Shearwater, who can ingest the plastic and become entangled in the attachments, including ribbon and balloon clips.

“Balloons can be fun, but they don’t belong outside.”

The Premier’s Sustainability Awards are the highest profile program of their kind in Victoria. Winners will be announced at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards gala dinner at The Forum in Melbourne on Thursday October 11.

For more information, visit zoo.org.au/getinvolved/act-for-wildlife/balloons.