A deer was found dead in a Thai national park with more than 15 pounds of trash in its stomach, according to officials.
Some of the items found inside the deer’s intestinal tract included instant noodle flavoring bags, plastic bags, rubber gloves, hand towels, men’s underwear and a straw rope, according to Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The deer was found Monday at the Khun Sathan National Park in Nan, news agency AFP reported.
When animals eat trash, they often die of starvation because their stomachs are full but they are not receiving any nutrients from its contents.
Kriangsak Thanompun, director of the protected region in the Khun Sathan National Park, described the deer’s death as a “tragedy” and called for the use of “nature-friendly products” rather than plastic.
“It shows we have to take seriously and reduce… single-use plastic,” he told AFP.
Thailand is one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic, with residents using about 3,000 single-use plastic bags each year to wrap street food, takeout coffee or groceries, according to AFP.
The news comes months after an 8-month-old dugong named Marium, a loveable manatee-like animal that went viral for hugging its helpers in Thailand, died with plastic in her stomach.
