Plastic and Biomedical Waste Threaten Wildlife Health in India’s Grasslands

Veterinary and conservation experts in Western India are raising alarms over a growing environmental crisis: unchecked plastic and biomedical waste is killing wild animals and destabilizing fragile grassland ecosystems.

According to recent field studies by The Grasslands Trust, predators including wolves (Canis lupus pallipes), hyenas, and wild dogs are ingesting plastic through contaminated prey, while herbivores such as blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) and numerous bird species are consuming discarded bags and packaging directly. Traces of plastic found in wolf scat confirm bioaccumulation across trophic levels, underscoring the veterinary and ecological risks of environmental contamination.

Founder and trustee Mihir Godbole emphasized the urgency: “The damage is already visible and worsening day by day. With rapid urbanization, waste from hotels and unsegregated dumping by nearby villages has surged over the last seven to eight years. This problem needs urgent attention.”

Beyond plastic, biomedical waste is emerging as an equally serious hazard. Veterinary teams have documented morbidity and mortality in wildlife following exposure to medical trash, likely through toxic ingestion and zoonotic pathogen transmission. Such waste poses a dual threat—direct harm to animals and increased risks of disease spread among both wildlife and human populations.

The ecological stakes are high. Wolves are considered a keystone species in these grasslands, and their decline could destabilize predator-prey dynamics, accelerate biodiversity loss, and impact local communities reliant on healthy ecosystems for agriculture and livestock grazing.

Encouragingly, conservation groups, schools, and government agencies are beginning to respond. In Saswad, more than 300 students and volunteers recently participated in a two-day cleanup, planting native grasses and installing signage to discourage dumping. Broader policy measures, including single-use plastic bans and extended producer responsibility laws, are also being implemented at regional and global levels.

For veterinarians, the crisis highlights the expanding interface of animal, human, and environmental health. The situation in Pune district reflects the “One Health” principle: waste mismanagement not only threatens biodiversity but also increases risks of disease transmission and ecosystem collapse. Proactive veterinary involvement in surveillance, advocacy, and community engagement will be critical in mitigating this threat.