How Many Animals Must Suffer?
Two days ago I was at the vets, buying drugs for my rescue greyhound. Unable to take her far from the prevalent fireworks in our area as I usually do, sedating her was my best option for preventing the full body shakes she experiences when fireworks are set off. The vets advice was “give her 2 pills an hour before the fireworks start”. I stared blankly and said, “And how am I to know when that is?”.
Fireworks can go off at any time without warning. Legally, its from 7am to 11pm in England and Wales, 6pm to 11pm in Scotland.
Last December we nearly lost Sylvie. Unexpected fireworks during her evening wee sent her running in terror. Frantic with worry we drove around looking for her in the dark.
Twenty minutes later we got a phone call. A couple had managed to catch her and phoned the number on her collar. In blind terror, she’d run up steep hills into town, across a busy road and into a restaurant car park. She was 3 miles from home.
Immense relief as we went to pick her up was overshadowed by fear at the state of her.
She was completely exhausted and had to be carried into the car and house.
Her toe dislocated, nails torn up and broken, her paws raw and bleeding from running…
With a deep wound in her hip, possibly from being hit by a car, we knew we were lucky she was alive.
But every year many animals do not survive the terror caused by fireworks.
According to statistics from the British Horse Society fireworks have taken a devastating toll on equines since 2010. With 49 horses killed, 317 injured, and 1,468 firework-related incidents recorded with the equine charity, its no wonder there’s been a major rise in people raising the alarm on the horrific danger fireworks pose for horses, livestock, dogs and wildlife.
And let us not forget the deaths of the Red Pandas at Edinburgh zoo last year, prompting Edinburgh Zoo to call for a fireworks ban ahead of Bonfire Night.
The Kennel Club reported that Petlog, one of the UK’s largest lost and found pet databases, saw an 81% increase in dogs going missing within the two week time frame when fireworks are rampant.
A quick google search into firework petitions will show that people’s voices are getting louder in speaking up for the many animals that pay the price for destructive entertainment.
It’s high time for the “tradition” of fireworks to become a thing of the past. Or at the very least, a ban on the public using them for private displays at all hours.