For years, Gibraltar used to release 30,000 balloons each year on the 10th of September to celebrate its National Day. After realizing that most of these balloons ended up polluting the sea and seriously threatening marine life, the government decided to put an end to this tradition two years ago.
Now Gibraltar has taken it a step further by completely banning the release of helium-filled balloons in a bid to lower the number of sea creatures killed by swallowing them. Gibraltar’s position at the mouth of the Mediterranean makes the ban even more important as its surrounding waters are rich with marine life and migratory birds crossing between Europe and Africa.
