Interview and story on BBC Autumnwatch

Description

Prozac Starlings - 'Michaela investigates the worrying effects our drugs are having on wildlife.' From BBC website: Prozac Starlings. As many a hardy birdwatcher knows, sewage farms can be great places to spot birds, providing a valuable food source as the days shorten. But what are these birds really feeding on? In 2012, 50 million anti-depressant pills were prescribed in the UK. These are often very stable compounds, and don’t break down once they’ve passed through our bodies and then our water-treatment systems. Worms, maggots and flies at sewage treatment plants have been found to contain these pharmaceuticals, and these invertebrates could then be eaten by wild birds. Michaela meets Dr. Kathryn Arnold from the University of York, who has been studying the effects of one drug, the anti-depressant fluoxetine, commonly known as Prozac, on starlings. She’s discovered changes in their feeding, mating and predator-avoidance behaviour that could put birds at risk in the wild.

Period	26 Nov 2014
Held at	BBC