Published on 12, July, 2020
It is, unfortunately, that time of the year when fireworks become an increasing menace to many people and animals.
I have submitted 14 separate occurrences of fireworks to Firework Abatement UK (https://fireworkabatement.wordpress.com/fireworkslog/) since I found the website in April and I encourage people to submit their own reports to the site. The organisation seems to be doing a decent job of trying to improve the regulation of fireworks and submitting data will help the cause. Perhaps one day will be be rid of the fireworks menace.
You may also wish to support the RSPCA's firework campaign calling for an urgent review of firework regulations:https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/fireworks
And still the fireworks go on. Yet another week - almost a full month after Bonfire Night - where fireworks area regular occurrence.
For anyone interested, this link will allow you to watch (or listen) to the debate:https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/11ebe695-5f06-4aea-8424-7ab9dbc1c465
This page contains a transcript of the debate:https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-11-26/debates/C95047CD-F24E-44DA-BE73-FC571B014CEF/FireworksPublicSales
It tells you something about this government when the person closing the debates states:"I would like to be able to thank the Minister, but in 21 years I have seldom heard a response that took so little cognisance of the debate that had just happened."
Pretty damning.
If you want to watch the minister's speech, it starts around 19.52. The closing remarks begin around 19.19: watch the minister's reactions and listen to her attempts to intervene (or read the transcript from 7.19).
Unfortunately for me, the minister is my MP. I have e-mailed her to let her know that I agreed with the debate's closing remarks.
The figures which follow relate to horses only and are from the British Horse Society via the 'Review firework rules to protect animals from injury and distress' Change petition.
Since November 2010:248 firework-related incidents have been reported (42 so far this year)17 horse fatalities resulting from fireworks (2 so far this year)85 horses injured resulting from fireworks (20 so far this year)This illustrates the urgent need for action to be taken on fireworks.
Firework Abatement UK reports (https://fireworkabatement.wordpress.com/2018/11/15/whooo-hooooo-another-firework-debate/) reports that there will be another fireworks debate by MPs on 26th November at 4.30 p.m.
The debates relates to the petition 'ban the sale of fireworks to the public. Displays for licenced venues only.' (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/231147), which, at the time of writing, has gained nearly 285,000 signatures.
This will be the third fireworks debate in two years and, I am given to understand, represents an unprecedented level of debate on a single issue via the petition website.
Please contact your MP to ask them to attend the debate and to speak in favour of the petition.
As if more evidence is needed to show the selfishness of users of fireworks and their disregard for everything else, I had to endure nearly three hours of fireworks on Remembrance Day.
I urge people to sign both of the above petitions. The first petition mentioned above now has nearly 280,00 signatures. The second petition has over 350,000 signatures.
People have had enough of the public menace that is fireworks.
Yes the meat eating thing is interesting. I'm personally OK with the farming of livestock for meat consumption, as long as the animals are well treated and slaughtered with reasonable humanity and there's no unnecessary suffering. I'm also keen that we try and make full use of the animal as much as possible so that we're not wasting anything that it has given us.
My rationalisation is that we're an omnivorous animal and we've evolved eating and to eat meat. Therefore I don't think we can say eating meat is wrong, since if we hadn't we as a species quite likely wouldn't be here! Of course, I know some people have a difficulty with eating meat and choose not to. I respect that opinion and their choice if they are acting on the basis of their own freely arrived at principles. But I'd also hope they would respect my opinion and my choice which I've arrived at on the basis of my own freely arrived at principles.
In terms of the environmental impact of industrial scale livestock farming, I appreciate the likely impact. But I don't think the livestock farming is the root cause of the problem. As indeed many of the other things that appear to be driving wide-scale environmental changes are not the root causes either. The problem I think is, that the things that are the root cause of the problem aren't willing to sort themselves out somehow so that they are no longer the root cause of a problem.
The number of signatures to the petition on the Parliament website has increased to nearly A QUARTER OF A MILLION.
Even as I am looking at the petition page the signature counter increasing quite rapidly.
Please sign the petition to 'ban the sale of fireworks to the public. Displays for licenced venues only.' At the time of writing, more than 176,000 have signed the petition:https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/231147
The Change website also has a fireworks petition, this one is to 'review firework rules to protect animals from injury and distress'. More than 300,000 people have signed the petition:https://www.change.org/p/office-for-product-safety-and-standards-review-firework-rules-to-protect-animals-from-injury-and-distress
'Silent' fireworks are a small step in the right direction but no more. They do not address issues of indiscriminate distribution of rubbish, health issues (e.g. for people with heart problems), pollution, glare, injuries (to people and animals), etc. Indeed, encouraging the increased use of fireworks will make those issues worse. Such fireworks are not silent, they are quieter.
So, 'silent' fireworks are not a good compromise. Their only (welcome) positive is a reduction in noise.
You can get silent fireworks, which is a good compromise. I live in a village that has a place for events. They use exhibition fireworks all year around.
You don't have to. I lost my childhood pet to a car. I won't dwell too long on the moral philosophy of it all - and I do take your point. I think I have a pretty healthy perception of right and wrong, and I adjust those things on a daily basis by a consideration of all kinds of factors - like access to new information. I'm a Green, politically - which means that at the same time as wanting society to move towards more sustainable, cleaner and safer forms of transport, I have to accept that, because of the way society is currently structured, a very gradualist approach to that is the only thing we can hope for for the foreseeable future.
My point really was that I think it's a bit of a false comparison you're making. Fireworks aren't vital to society, however you wish to argue it. They do damage - maybe a fraction of the damage other things cause - but they do damage. So we have to weigh up whether the damage they cause is acceptable in terms of the amount of pleasure they give. Most things we do in life involve that weighing up: eating, drinking, smoking, drug-taking, etc. I may be doing my internal organs untold damage by drinking a bit heavily at times. I have to weigh that against the effect that alcohol brings - the highs, the laughter, the temporary freedom from anxiety... and the hangovers, headaches and sickness as well.
Lots of barely necessary things do damage. Plastic waste, say, generated by festivals like Hallowe'en. But motor transport, no matter how damaging it is, isn't something frivolous like that. You can't just ban it and expect society as it is to continue operating as it is. And that's basically what I was responding to in what you said:
Windscale said:if you really care about human and animal suffering, ban motor vehicles not fireworks because you'll have a much greater impact.
You're absolutely right, of course. But fireworks are things that are more easily dealt with. That's the point I was trying to make.
Actually, if you really care about animal suffering, a ban that is much more realistically achievable - and that, given climate change and the rise in global temperatures, is becoming urgently necessary - is on meat-eating. Look at the damage (and suffering) that global livestock rearing for meat consumption causes. That genuinely is horrific. And it can be stopped without disrupting society in quite so drastic a way as banning motor vehicles. Which isn't, by any means, meant to diminish the devastating impact of motor vehicles on society - and human and animal suffering.
I won't show you a picture of the effect that a motor vehicle can have if it hits a dog (or any other pet or animal).
My suggestion is that you have a good long think about your perceptions of right and wrong and what's socially acceptable and unacceptable. Basically what you're saying is that you accept that something causes much greater harm, but that harm is socially acceptable to you because you find it convenient. Another thing however, that causes relatively little harm, but which shares lots of the same characteristics - loud noise, bright lights etc. is not acceptable, because you happen to find the harm that causes somehow "more harmful", despite being of obviously much lower magnitude, because you don't agree with it's social usages.
With respect, Windscale, fireworks and motor vehicles are of an entirely different order of things. Motor vehicles, as much as they cause a lot of damage to life and to the environment, serve an entirely different purpose. We couldn't get to where we want to go (including transporting sick people to A and E departments) or have our vital supplies delivered to us, by fireworks. These are a form of entertainment and spectacle, not an essential part of our our societal infrastructure. Which isn't to say that I don't agree with you that motor vehicles cause a lot of damage. But we could stop using fireworks without changing as much about society and it's functioning as we would if we stopped using motor vehicles.
Here's a video which many, I warn, may find very disturbing - so don't watch if you're easily upset...
The effect that fireworks can have on a dog.
In terms of harm, fireworks are very low down on the list of priorities to ban. In 2017 there were 1,710 deaths in road accidents and there were 176,500 casualties of all severities. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-provisional-estimates-april-to-june-2017.
In comparison, in 2015/16 St. John's Ambulance reported that 4,506 people visited A&E from 2014-2015 for treatment of a fireworks-related injury. They don't mention any fatalities and I think they would be keen to note such if they had happened, so I think we can tentatively put the fatality figure at 0. Source: https://www.sja.org.uk/sja/what-we-do/latest-news/firework-related-injuries.aspx.
So it seems that fireworks cause approximately 2.6% of the casualties of motor vehicles.
Plus motor vehicles are often very noisy and disturbing at all times of the night and day and my experience is that this is much more frequently than with fireworks.
And if we're talking about banning things because of noise, and quality of life impact, then since I live under the Heathrow flight-path I'd much rather we talked about banning aircraft than fireworks.
But the take home is, if you really care about human and animal suffering, ban motor vehicles not fireworks because you'll have a much greater impact.
Your second posting really made me stop and think... it was not at all over the top from my perspective.
This is an issue where strong feelings are justified as you set out so clearly. I appreciated being challenged to consider my behaviour and ethics.
Incidentally I just derived huge pleasure from seeing that your thread has been read 111 times and replied to 11 times. This message is going to spoil that lovely sequence of 1s!
Funnily enough, I'm writing about that very thing now. I have a character who doesn't believe in fate, but at the same time thinks that certain things happen for a reason. Pretty much how I feel.
Do I contradict myself? Very well, then. I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.
Walt Whitman
Walt had a neat way there of seeing contradictory views as some kind of virtue. Open-mindedness.
Christopher Hitchens also said something along the lines that objectivity isn't about being impartial or open-minded. It's about being able to consider things that one finds uncomfortable - like a point of view that conflicts with one's own. All wise words, I think. It's why I've disengaged from political discussions now. They're not discussions, really - just people defending their point of view and trouncing the other person's. Trench warfare, and very little in the way of armistice!
Thank you for your reply. Returning to my PC this morning I wondered if I went over the top with my second posting. As you can probably tell, I have strong feelings about fireworks.
Martian Tom said:As someone who cares a lot about animal welfare, I realise the contradiction in my position on this.
I have never come across anyone whose views and positions on at least one subject are not contradictory; I certainly fall into that category. We are all a work in progress!
Martian Tom refers to the use of fireworks during New Year. When I was growing up, fireworks were never part of the New Year celebration, Fireworks are even used on Christmas Day and Armistice Day.
Yes... it seems to be a comparatively recent thing, maybe triggered by their use every year in London. When I was a kid - in fact, right up to my 20s, I think - fireworks were only used at one time of year. It was kind of expected then, so people could prepare: keep pets in, etc. Also, fireworks are much louder and more powerful now than the squibs I used to get as a kid.
You make some very salient points here - and I know of someone with PTSD who has great problems with fireworks. We also have a client at work with hypersensitive hearing, and he's terrified of fireworks. In many ways, I agree with you. It is a selfish thing, and causes a lot of harm and damage. Yes, I like the spectacle, I have to admit - and it's so easy to forget the other side of it. I'm glad that you've taken the time to remind us of this. As someone who cares a lot about animal welfare, I realise the contradiction in my position on this. You've certainly given me a lot of persuasive arguments to consider.
I will answer your post but will not become involved in a discussion about fireworks as my mental health is not up to the task. Fortunately, most of the text shown below I have used elsewhere.
For those who have read the Firework Abatement UK website and the RSPCA's web page, it will be clear what I am 'trying to achieve' with those paragraphs of my post. There are no credible arguments against the firework objectives of those organisations.
Menace (main Oxford Dictionaries definition): a person or thing that is likely to cause harm.
From a personal perspective (and I am not alone in this), I would like to see a complete ban on fireworks and I outline some of the reasons why below. At the very least, I would like to see a ban on the use of personal fireworks (something which Manchester's police chief has recently called for).
Fireworks are archaic and inherently selfish. There is no escaping their noise (last year I wore both ear plugs and ear defenders at the same time and could still hear fireworks) and they result in rubbish being indiscriminately distributed; there can be no denying these facts. If I came to where you live and started banging repeatedly and loudly on your doors and windows and threw rubbish around your garden - which, in effect, is what fireworks do - you would (understandably) not be pleased.
People who suffer from heart problems (like myself), asthma or bronchitis need to be careful with regards to fireworks. Additionally, the excessive loudness of fireworks causes problems for people with mental health issues, PTSD, etc.
Fireworks are the largest manufactured source of some types of metal particles in the UK atmosphere and the proportion of pollution from fireworks will only increase as investments are made to reduce other sources of urban pollution. Particle filters are present on nearly all modern diesel vehicles and factory emissions are continually being tightened but firework pollution remains unchecked.
The impact of fireworks on animal welfare is huge. Millions of companion animals (e.g. cats and dogs) are caused great distress by the use of fireworks. The distress may be short-term for most animals but it is unnecessary. The sound of fireworks can lead to injuries and, sadly, death in companion animals. Animals fleeing in panic can also cause traffic accidents.
The impact of fireworks on farm animals and wildlife is no less troubling. Birds can lose orientation for quite some time because of the glare of fireworks, sheep can abort their lambs and animals too near to exploding fireworks can become victims of burns and eye damage, to mention just three examples.A friend has told me how she has to sedate her horses to try to help them cope with the noise of fireworks. That same friend has also told me how she knows three people who have had to have their horses (including a foal) put to sleep this year due to firework-related injuries. How much more suffering must animals endure due to fireworks?
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 a time.
Martian Tom refers to the use of fireworks during New Year. When I was growing up, fireworks were never part of the New Year celebration. Fireworks are even used on Christmas Day and Armistice Day.
I could go on and on and on and on. The societal negatives of fireworks far, far outweigh the positives.
To those who use fireworks privately (in particular) and those who attend public displays I ask:
Do you?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions and you are still involved with fireworks, I ask: why does your want override such suffering? And I ask you to ensure you do not contribute to any further related suffering.
I also ask:
If you answered ‘no’ to all those questions, I ask that you begin to consider the consequences of your fireworks and ensure you do not contribute to any further related suffering.
Yep - it stung like bi***. They were talking about skin grafts but, as I'm on loads of steroids, it had healed too much to do the grafts
Eventually healed up ok but there's a huge scar.
After that, I took the safe route and volunteered every year for setting up the company fireworks event. We set up all the bbq and catering and the sound system and then the spooky graveyard at the entrance. I stay away from the actual fireworks now...