Just interested in everyone opinion what they think about issues around Halloween spider netting. Im totally against seeing this around especially woth birds getting caight up in it thinking its able to be used for nesting material. I got no idea how it can be allowed in to the country if it going to cause havoc. Anyway choice opinion also on this issue as it is supposed to be coming more popular from what I heard.
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As I pay very little attention to Halloween nonsense, I was unaware of the existence of this stuff. Iām horrified by it. I agree it would pose a risk to birds and other small animals if set up anywhere outdoors, and that some birds might collect it to use for nesting material.
Itās yet more plastic junk to add to existing pollution, too ā¦ 
Note that āThe spider web is made of durable material and measures approximately 4ft in diameter, making it the perfect size for hanging on a tree, door, or wallā.
To me, ādurableā says that a creature caught up in it would be unable to tear it apart and escape. 4ft in diameter and with lots of holes means a struggling animal could firmly tangle itself up in it and risk strangulation / suffocation.
Please, everyone - do NOT use this stuff, and DO discourage others from doing so. 
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I would put that up there with helium balloons.
I think the government should at least try a more cooperative approach (e.g. educating consumers and businesses) before bringing out the big stick of a ban.
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Agreed in principle. Outright bans all too often force the banned object / practice underground, where itās more difficult to control and becomes more of a problem than it had originally been. Especially if thereās been no communication and consultation first.
Unless this particular stuff has already firmly embedded itself in Australian cultural practices associated with Halloween, a ban might not create that sort of problem.
Actually, Iād rank helium balloons higher. Helium has some very important uses, is effectively irreplaceable, and there isnāt a lot of it on Earth. We will run out of it soon if it continues to be frittered away on helium balloons and the like.
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It could be an idea to find out if such nets actually do harm birds first and if so is it under all circumstances.
I feel no need to decorate my house with such, or with fake snow and plastic Santas, fairy lights, or several other schemes to display mass produced rubbish. For those who do enjoy that, a good reason needs to exist before considering bans.
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Yes, any ban has to be justifiable first.
Whether or not these webs turn out to be harmful, it would be a good idea to educate people about what happens to the contents of their rubbish bins and encourage them to find reusable / genuinely biodegradable alternatives. This might even take some load off / reduce the need for landfill.
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Iām not a fan of Halloweāen, nor of the outside of houses (or shops) decorated with the creepy spooky symbols of this annual event: skeletons, spider webs, big black spidersā¦to give your guests a fright !?.. are not my idea of a feel-good festivity.
Butā¦ spider webs are down the list of threats to birds in terms of causing injury or death. Of course predators are top of the list but also the proliferation of rooftop solar panels because birds are attracted to the shiny surface thinking itās sky or water and fly into it to their serious injury/death.
(And Iām not advocating the banning of rooftop solar panels).
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There is historical advice. Two that might be decent summaries, one from Snopes and the other the ABC.
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Real spider webs, maybe. āDurableā plastic ones 4ft across are another matter.
Although it is true that the human built environment and human activities already create all kinds of threats for wildlife, that doesnāt mean we shouldnāt bother to raise objections when yet another is introduced, especially when no-one could argue that there is any need for this stuff - and itās going to be added to landfill almost immediately.
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Why donāt we ban this imported Yankee confection altogether? Whatās next? Thanksgiving?
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That goes equally for other decorations with a once a year or one off occasion. Have frivolous expenditure and throw away decorations accessories become surrogates for having a good time? Fun play and social skills need little more than a dose of imagination and willingness to participate. Shared food and drinks a bonus.
Past years, being on an unlit narrow country road with only the glow of the moon and cries of the Bush stone curlews, the screams of the Masked lapwings in flight, and shadowy silhouettes of the fluttering Flying foxes against the sky. Who needs decorations? 
One can get that Halloweāen feeling at our front gate most nights of the year. 
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ā¦ and the eerie calling of dingoes in the distance.
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That is going to take some work. We could start by forming an action group to defend against furriners and their wacky ideas. Members would wear slouch hats, carry a sprig of wattle and proudly wear vegemite on their upper lip.
āUnder the Southern Cross I stand ā¦ā
That goes for the cheap toys that spring up at the same time, they get used for a very short time then break or not but are quickly disposed of regardless of the condition they are in. What a waste of material, money, and what a burden for the environment.
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I was, reading a story online where this was occurring small birds were bringing the material back nest and getting tangled. Unlike natural twigs or grasses are natural.
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Seriously, if you are worried about birds then your time would be far more productively spent campaigning for the elimination of feral cats and reducing cat numbers in general. I say this liking cats too. They are however the single biggest recognised threat to birds and an introduced species.
This would be many orders of magnitude more effective than what you are proposing here.
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We can walk and chew gum, as they say. Itās not āeither-orā, itās not mutually exclusive. (Changes are afoot in relation to cats, feral and otherwise, but letās not hijack this topic with discussion of those measures.)
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Sure, but it makes far more sense investing your efforts where they do the most good when thereās a single objective in mind.
We donāt even know beyond some speculation that these webs are actually any real danger whereas the effect of cats on bird and other native animal species is well documented and researched scientifically.
Do you want to do something good or do you want to win a debate on the internet?
Yes.
This thread could be about:
- saving birds,
- saving the broader environmental cost of disposable plastics or
- banning a practice that is perceived as foreign and introduced that some do not want to become a more widespread custom for personal and cultural rather than practical reasons.
What is the proper role of these relics of religious festivals in a mainly secular society?
Should we ban Christmas decorations, santa regalia, fairy lights and all that other ephemera heading for landfill? The thread on fairy lights suggests that some would say yes.
How about banning the consumption of pancakes on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras)? There is no longer a reason to consume in anticipation of lent and we are an obese society. Should all the glitter and paint of Mardi Gras be gone too?
I think that the links to largely defunct holy-days are not important, that the problem is not what we celebrate or where it originates. We have allowed festivals to become commercial rather than social and so the profit motive has come to rule. With that comes the short-term view which demands socialising costs, such as environmental harm, to preserve margins.
Synthetic spider web is not a problem of cultural appropriation but just another example of so many cases where we fail to manage the pollution consequences of manufacturers giving us what we want.
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Different people have different values and priorities as well as differing abilities to engage.
That is incorrect. In addition to previously linked articles since it is an American āholidayā an American station report. Iāll punt our wildlife are no more clever than the American lot.
From 9, more focused on birds.
The Community is a forum to reinforce common causes with members being recognised and encouraged, as well as to discuss consumer issues. Diminishing or demeaning their interest when there is a common goal adds nothing to the topic and is contrary to the Guidelines.
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