Concerns regarding the welfare of animals permeate all levels of society.
The increasing pollution, decreasing habitats and the destruction of feeding
and breeding areas has pushed animals to the very extreme of living
conditions. Birds suffer most of all as they live near humans more than any
other species. Continuous exposure to the pollutants such as pesticides and
heavy metals, causes diseases, produces effects on their reproductive cycles,
causes changes in their responses to stimuli and leads to DNA damage.
Pesticides and heavy metals can have adverse affects on various
physiological systems. Studies have shown that heavy metals can also have
an influence on the general health of some birds. Many pesticides are applied
in granular form, which makes them particularly dangerous to birds, which
pick them up while searching for seeds. Birds also ingest pesticides through
their food and by preening and grooming.
Pesticides have become omnipresent contaminants of our environment
and have been found in water, soil, air and both human and animal tissues all
over the world. Silent Spring, the book written by Rachel
Carson, facilitated the ban of the pesticide DDT in 1972 in the United States
and foretold of the poisoning of the planet by man.Since then,
many countries have devised policies to reduce pesticide use.
