Small Mammals

I would like to make a plea through this forum for help in combating losses of small mammals, particularly shews. A growing problem we have in Calderdale (and I assume elsewhere) is the throwing away of empty drinks cans, particularly beer cans in the countryside. I crush and gather between 30/40 empty beer, cider and coke cans weekly on my morning walk down the canal towpath and Cromwell Bottom. I usually flatten these and then take a bin bag down one morning and gather them up for recycling. I first became of a wildlife problem associated with these cans a couple of years back. I heard a "scrabbling" noise coming from the undergrowth and it seemed to be coming from a beer can. Sure enough when I took the can home and cut off the top I discovered two dead shrews and one dying shrew inside the can. The worst case I have found so far contained the dead & rotting remains of at least 6 small mammals.

The empty tins are an absolute magnet for small mammals due to the sweet beer smell coming form them and if they get inside its almost impossible for them to get enough purchase on the slippy can surface to get back out again. Shrews will die very quickly if they are trapped without food, in as little as 2/3 hours and so are almost certainly goners as soon as they manage to get into a can. Could I ask members of this forum to spread the message that if they see these empty cans to check nothing is trapped inside. If you cannot take them home with you, could you at least crush the cans so no animals can get inside them. Just a ward of warning here: crush the can using your heel as they sometimes contain used hypodermic needles which could pierce thin soled shoes or boots.

I have to admit that any empty beer bottles I find (not many of these) I simply sink them in the canal as I cannot carry them home with me. I also have found dead mammals in these chucked away beer bottles as well.