fireworks and animals

Fireworks and animals

Fireworks are enjoyed year-round by people but can be a source of fear for many animals and they can release heaviest health damage to animals, up to shock conditions with death sequences. Birds can lose orientation for quite some time because of the unexpected glare of fireworks rockets. Animals which get too near to exploding fireworks can become victims of burns and eye damage. There are also animals which are hit with fireworks intentionally and thus are severely and/or deadly hurt.

Fireworks also leads to more and more problems even by guide dogs for the blind. Every year, guide dogs and other working dogs are forced to retire after being traumatised by the irresponsible use of fireworks. Others have to be sedated, and some even retrained, leaving their owners without mobility for weeks at a time. Every year, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (England) have to retire four animals because of stress caused by fireworks. Another 150 dogs need further training to deal with problems related to loud bangs. It costs up to £30,000 to train a guide dog and each animal is selected to suit the individual lifestyle of the owner.

For us human beings fireworks have become unbearably loud and have resulted to many thousands each year in inner-ear injuries and even in final hearing damage. Many animal species have an extremely sensitive ear and a cracker, therefore, impairs their hearing more than our human ear! Cats hear better than dogs and much better than human beings; they suffer from loud noises at least as much as a person with a heavy headache. A cat or a dog which is exposed to the bursting of a cracker can endure a long-lasting trauma, even an irreversible ear damage. Fireworks lasting for hours are an acoustical torture for animals.

Every year thousands of animals are brought to animal shelters having run away from home. Others are fleeing in panic; some bump headlong into the next car hurting themselves severely. Others go and hide themselves trembling for fear. Others again grab objects thrown towards them with their mouth imagining they were toys, with the effect that they explode in their mouth.

Panic can also create "stomach upsets" with animals or induce over-reactions. Non-acceptance of food, diarrhea, severe trembling or continuous howling are typical evidences.

Fireworks are terrible for animals, please don’t ignore the problem. Seek advice from your vet who will if necessary, be able to refer you to a professional clinical animal behaviourist and please follow these tips to make firework celebrations less frightening for your animal companions.

Dogs and cats

Always keep dogs and cats inside when fireworks are being let off and make sure your dog or cat always has somewhere to hide if he or she wants to and has access to this place at all times. For example this could be under some furniture or in a cupboard.
Make sure your dog is walked earlier in the day before the fireworks start.
Close all windows and doors, and block off cat-flaps to stop animals escaping and to keep noise to a minimum. Draw the curtains, and if the animals are used to the sounds of TV or radio, switch them on (but not too loudly) in order to block out some of the noise of the fireworks.
Ensure dogs are wearing some form of easily readable identification (ID) – even in the house. They should have at least a collar and tag.
Think about fitting your companion animals with a microchip, so that if they do run away they have a better chance of being quickly reunited with you.
Prepare a ‘den’ for your animal companion where he/she can feel safe and comfortable – perhaps under a bed with some of your old clothes. He/she may like to hide there when the fireworks start.
Let your animal pace around, whine, miaow and hide in a corner if he/she wants to. Do not try to coax it out – he/she is just trying to find safety, and should not be disturbed.
Try not to cuddle and comfort distressed animals as they will think you are worried too, and this may make the problem worse. Instead stay relaxed, act normally and praise calm behaviour.
Avoid leaving your animal friend alone during such potentially upsetting events. If you do have to leave the house, don’t get angry with your animal companion if you find he/she has been destructive after being left on his/her own. Shouting at a frightened animal will only make it more stressed.
Don’t tie your dog up outside while fireworks are being let off, ie outside a shop while you pop inside, or leave him/her in the garden or in your car.
Never take your dog to a fireworks display. Even if he/she doesn’t bark or whimper at the noise, it doesn’t mean he/she is happy. Excessive panting and yawning can sometimes indicate that your dog is stressed.

Horses and ponies

Fireworks must not be set off near "livestock" or horses in fields, or close to buildings housing animals. Anyone planning a firework display in a rural area should warn neighbouring farmers in advance.
Try to make sure that fireworks are never set off near your horse’s field or stable. Tell neighbours and local fireworks display organisers there are horses nearby, so that they can ensure fireworks are set off in the opposite direction and well away from them.
Keep your horse in its familiar environment, in its normal routine with any companions to make it feel secure. If your horse is usually stabled then keep it stabled. If he/she is normally out in the field, keep him/her there as long as it is safe, secure and not near the fireworks display area.
Ensure that you or someone experienced stays with your horse if you know fireworks are being set off. This way you can observe his/her behaviour, ensure he/she remains as safe and calm as possible and respond to his/her reactions appropriately.
If you know your horse reacts badly to loud noises speak to your vet or perhaps consider moving your horse for the night.
Try to remain calm and positive as horses can sense unease in a person and this might make things worse if the horse is startled.
Be careful yourself. Try not to get in the way if your horse becomes startled as you may get hurt.
Don’t take the risk of riding when you think fireworks might be set off.
If it is necessary for you to leave your horse in the care of another person during a fireworks show, leave clear instructions and contact details for yourself and your vet should any problems arise.

Small animals

Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice, ferrets and birds, all need to be treated with special care when fireworks are being let off. These animals are easily frightened. To make fireworks less frightening for your small animal companions, please follow these precautions:

Hutches/cages and enclosures should, if possible, be brought into a quiet room indoors, or into a garage or shed.
Give your animal extra bedding to burrow into so he/she feels safe.
If you cannot bring your animal’s hutch inside, you should turn his/her enclosure around so that he/she faces a wall or fence instead of the open garden.
Cover any aviaries or hutches with thick blankets or a duvet to block out the sight of the fireworks and deaden the sound of the bangs, but make sure there is enough ventilation.

Fireworks are dangerous

Below, some points to ponder before supporting the fireworks industry.
Do you really want to be part of all of this?

Fireworks harm and kill people

People get killed manufacturing fireworks: The mortality rate of gunpowder explosion burns in factory accidents is high

Child labour is still used in the manufacture of fireworks (India and China)

Nearly half of all the fireworks produced in China fail to meet basic quality and safety standards (China Labour Bulletin)

Irresponsible and criminal use of fireworks poses a danger to both the people using them and innocent members of the public

Firecrackers (25%), rockets (21%), and sparklers (11%) accounted for most of the injuries seen in emergency departments during 2001 (Greene 2002)

Children are 11 times more likely to be injured by fireworks

People who stand too close to the fireworks run a high risk of being harmed

Fireworks explosions can cause tinnitus and even deafness

Epileptics can experience seizures

People who suffer from asthma experience discomfort

Bottle rockets are the single greatest cause of eye injuries requiring hospitalization. Bottle rockets are particularly dangerous because their flight path is erratic, their fuses are non-standard and their explosive power is enough to turn a 'launch site' bottle or can into shrapnel

Sparklers can ignite clothing and hair. Three sparklers burning together create the heat of a blow torch.

Fireworks harm and kill animals

Fireworks have been proven to be detrimental to companion animals and wildlife

Using fireworks near animals is both cruel and inhumane as explosive fireworks cause animals immense fear and stress

Animals who are too close to firework explosions often suffer significant burns and eye damage

Dogs often run and catch thrown fireworks in their mouths believing them to be toys

The ears of most animals are considerably more sensitive than the human ear and fireworks can permanently affect their acute sense of hearing

Many animals are terrified of these noises and break free or jump fences to try and escape the terror

Animals fleeing from fireworks often get lost or killed. Dogs are prone to being hit by cars and birds are prone to breaking their necks by flying into buildings

A bull trying to escape his pen in response to a fireworks display died after becoming impaled on the fence

Dogs are brought to shelters with paws bloody from running or torn skin from tearing through a backyard wooden fence or, worse, crippled from being hit by a car

Most birds fly away in fright and nesting mothers endanger the well-being of nestlings when they sometimes cannot find their own nest upon return

Laying hens show extremely low egg production the day after fireworks and the eggs are often malformed (Dr. Ian Duncan, an ethologist at the University of Guelph, Ontario)

Waterfowl become entangled in remnants of fireworks that land in waterways and ponds

Fish ingest the debris and die, sometimes even causing the deaths of scavenging animals that eat them

After fireworks, wildlife rehabilitators experience an increase in orphaned birds, squirrels, and other small mammals.

Even butterflies are at direct risk of becoming disoriented, injured, and killed.

The combined responses to fireworks of panic and disorientation can result in birds' flying into a building or too far out to sea. (Dr. David Noakes, a zoologist at the University of Guelph, Ontario)

Sound from loud gunshots on snow geese found that the birds reduced their feeding time

In 1996, research demonstrated that hatchling and juvenile black ducks grew slower and had less body weight than black ducks living in low-noise areas

Zoo staff often express particular concerns for their animals' safety.

Bosnia Herzegovina, 2011 - Two intoxicated youths duct-taped a firework in a German Shepherd’s mouth and blew off his face. But the torture didn’t stop there. The poor dog, known as Vucko, wandered in agony for five days, unable to eat and with maggots infecting the meaty pulp of his ruined face. Vucko was finally picked up by authorities and euthanized after vets were unable to perform reconstructive surgery.

Fireworks damage and destroy property

Fireworks have set fire to buildings

Fireworks pose a great threat to homes with thatch roofing

Associated Press - Residents look as a fire burns out a residential homes and a warehouse on Lagos Island in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. An explosion ripped through a warehouse Wednesday where witnesses say fireworks were stored in Nigeria's largest city, sparking a fire. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was injured in the blast that firefighters and locals struggled to contain. (Ap Photos/Sunday Alamba)

Fireworks damage and destroy the environment

Fireworks have started grass and forest fires

Even when green, Chromolaena oderata (Triffid Weed), an outlawed invader plant, burns readily and facilitates fires.

The explosion of fireworks releases poisonous chemicals and particle-laden smoke, contaminating our natural environment

Fireworks produce light pollution, noise pollution, air pollution, debris and litter

Fireworks damage the Ozone layer

The above text contains excerpts of, and information taken from the following sources:
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2154-88390/fireworks-and-animals.html
http://www.voiceforthevoiceless.org.za/dangers.htm
http://www.stop-fireworks.org/guide_dogs_and_fireworks.htm