Balloons choke or slowly starve wildlife: A recent study by the University of Tasmania showed that balloons are the number one debris mortality risk for seabirds. A 2012 study by the University of Queensland found that critically endangered sea turtles target balloons because of their similarity to jellyfish. In fact, of all rubber items found inside deceased sea turtles, 78% were balloons or their fragments. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warns about the perils of balloons for wildlife, imploring Americans to not release them.

Balloons and their strings or ribbons entangle birds, fish and other animals, strangling them or damaging their limbs: Balloons have killed or injured a vast array of animals, including birds of prey, whales, bighorn sheep, dolphins, horses, lambs, seals, platypuses, cows, dogs, tortoises and more.

Balloons land in lakes, streams, wetlands and oceans: During beach cleanups between 2016-18, volunteers for the Alliance for the Great Lakes picked up nearly 18,000 pieces of balloon debris from around the Great Lakes watershed. From 2008 to 2016 at International Coastal Cleanup events, more than 280,000 balloons were collected in the U.S. and 630,000 worldwide. In 2016, the Australian Federal Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) named balloon litter as one of the three most harmful items to marine wildlife. The Blue Ocean Society reports that balloons had become the most common debris from 2005-2018 in the Atlantic Ocean off New England. In 2018, balloon litter was the number one debris on Virginia’s remote beaches.

Human safety can also be put at risk: In 1986 in Ohio, Cleveland’s Balloonfest sought to release 1.5 million balloons, but the windless day prevented them from floating away. Balloons ended up blanketing the city and falling into nearby Lake Erie. Two fishermen drowned after the Coast Guard couldn’t find the men amid all the head-sized balloons in the water, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. In 1993, balloons aloft caused a fatal plane crash that started a 50-acre brush fire near Brea, California, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. And according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, “of all children’s products, balloons are the leading cause of suffocation death”.

Balloon makers falsely claim that latex balloons are biodegradable: Studies show it takes 4-6 years for a balloon to degrade, but by then, too much damage has been done as animals ingest them. Balloons also contain preservatives, dyes, chemicals and plasticizers. Balloons made of mylar or neoprene material are also not biodegradable.

Environmental, conservation and wildlife organizations object to balloon releases, including: Audubon groups, Balloons Blow, Blue Ocean Society, British Veterinary Association, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Clean Ocean Action, Clean Virginia Waterways, Dolphin Research Center, Greenpeace, Humane Society of the United States, Marine Conservation Society, Ocean Crusaders Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Project AWARE Global Ocean Protection, Save the Whales, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Turtles in Trouble and many more.

States and communities have banned mass balloon releases: California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia; Baltimore, Louisville, Nantucket, Provincetown and Toledo.

Therefore, we the undersigned individuals and organizations call for an end to the mass release of balloons, which serve no vital purpose. We encourage the use of the vast array of alternatives for celebrations and memorials.