Health risk fears for storks in Europe over ‘junk food’ from landfill

Landfill food may help storks increase their population, but it may also be altering their bodies in ways that are only just beginning to be understood. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Landfill food may help storks increase their population, but it may also be altering their bodies in ways that are only just beginning to be understood. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images Health risk fears for storks in Europe over ‘junk food’ from landfill Rubbish dumps can expose birds to contaminants, raising questions over whether landfill foraging helps or harms Storks are gaining weight from a diet of literal junk, according to research that suggests the previously disappearing birds face potential health risks as a result of increasingly eating from rubbish dumps. Landfill offers what appear to be quick and convenient meals for white stork populations in Europe . But new research suggests they may be gaining a short-term energy boost at the cost of hidden long-term health effects. It points to a complicated trade-off: landfill food may help the once endangered species grow and save energy, helping to increase their population, but it may also be altering their bodies in ways that are only just beginning to be understood. Once known for long-distance migrations between Europe and Africa, some populations have altered their behaviour as discarded food has become easier to find than natural prey. Storks foraging from landfill can pick through human food waste, meat scraps, insects, rodents and earthworms, while spending less energy searching across fields and wetlands. But the same sites can expose birds to plastics, wires, glass and heavy metals, raising questions over whether this “junk food” diet is helping or harming them. Anustup Bandyopadhyay, a PhD student at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna who was involved in the study, said growing global waste production was creating new feeding opportunities for wildlife, but the consequences for storks remained contested. Birdsong data from Merlin ID app to help global biodiversity project Read more The researchers investigated white stork populations in Poland , where the birds have begun eating more from landfill over the past decade. Unlike some western European populations, most of these birds still rely mainly on natural prey, giving researchers a chance to compare individual white storks using different foraging strategies. View image in fullscreen Once known for long-distance migrations between Europe and Africa, some stork populations have altered their behaviour as discarded food has become easier to find than natural prey. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images Their early findings, presented at the Society for Experimental Biology conference in Florence, suggested that landfill-feeding storks tend to have greater body mass and higher energy stores than those feeding naturally. “They can spend less time foraging and potentially cha