Balloons being released

[Funnybunny12]

I’ve just woken up to find two balloons in my garden one stuck on my tree and one in by the shed I only noticed it as my dog was sniffing around the ballon. They had a bit of card attached to the end with some heartfelt message on. I get that people do send offs in different ways but does no one think about the environment and animals.

Don't be a dick. Balloon releases are notorious for killing livestock. I wouldn't want that legacy in my much loved family/friends name. Light a candle. Go for a beer.

My great uncle Claude had a saying and it still rings true today.

"Keep the countryside tranquil!
No balloons!
No baboons!
No bassoons!"

Margaret Thatcher adopted it at the 1990 European Council Meeting, but dropped all the 'B' words retaining just the three 'No's'.

Uncle Claude also had another one about rats;

"See it, Slay it , Sorted." That was so good that British Transport adopted it as their slogan, with just a little tweak.

I was at a wedding, when it was dark each guest was given a balloon, each one had a small light in it so they were lit up when they floated away, I thought what a waste of plastic, where will they and up.

It is senseless. I'd like to assume that people just don't think rather than the actively don't care about where the balloons end up and the damage they can do. Who would seriously want glorified littering to be their legacy or done in their name? I've told DH that if I die and he sets off any balloons or chinese lanterns then I'm coming back to haunt him!

My DS's class actually did a lot of research into this and did a small protest in their play ground (they are year), a member of the council came and spent the day with them all and they educated him on the environmental impact. It was a great success and they are now banned on any council owned land in the city. A small win but a great one.

Definitely should be banned.

Chinese lanterns are a menace, there are enough thatched cottages and hay barns for it to be a real worry round here.

You're right OP

I think they should be outright banned to be honest.

I’m forever finding them in my horses field. I think often the big character helium ones are accidental where children have let go by mistake, but I find quite a lot with messages tied to them.

There was a nasty car accident near where I keep my horses a few years ago and the drivers family have a mass balloon release at the site of the accident on the anniversary and every year I find dozens of them in my field. It’s tricky, they are a grieving family and doing what they feel they need to do and when people have approached them sympathetically and kindly about not doing it it has always ended badly.

I live rural and a farmer showed us the toll it takes on his livestock. He explained animals are nosey and also dumb and will eat them out of curiosity and die from obstruction. He said that once a ballon landed in his water supply that had plastic confetti and glitter inside and his animals were drinking all that too not to mention his filtration system ended up needing repairs to it for the water that is piped into the house.

It's a nice gesture. But honestly planting a tree or putting a functional piece of equipment is equal to that sentiment. Like benches or something similar. I love sitting on memorial benches, you always read out the message and it's like their name is being kept alive a little bit more

I agree they should be banned. Unless someone invents a balloon that is completely biodegradable - and biodegrades quickly, once it hits the ground.

I wonder if @FoxInSocksSatOnBlocks will come back to defend their comment and tell us why the lives of wild animals and farm animals don't matter, and why littering the countryside is OK.

Should all be banned

Helium balloons should be banned as well

Humans are just dumb fucks

I'm think all balloons should be banned.

These balloon arches that are all over social media make me cringe. Why can people not see how utterly wasteful they are??

Nothing to defend. I stand by what I said. We can’t ban everything.

Nobody can enjoy anything in life anymore without someone whinging and moaning and going on about waste and all that bullshit.

Don’t like balloons? Don’t use them. I’m not going to stop because I do like them.

If you like balloons so much then keep them on your own damn land.

I’ll do what I please with the balloons I buy.

Balloon releases should be made illegal, or existing littering laws applied.

@FoxInSocksSatOnBlocks

It's dangerous to wildlife especially marine. Plenty of safe alternatives. My friends released doves (that return to their loft, they are basically white pigeons) and a family released native butterflies at work

Also a ban on those lanterns too, major cause of fires here

https://www.pigeonrescue.org/faqs-2/why-dove-releases-are-cruell**/*

www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/members-area/briefings/2021/21-08-releasing-doves-and-butterflies-at-funerals-and-other-events/

butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/releasing-butterflies-at-weddings

People should not release doves or butterflies either.

So just to be clear, @FoxInSocksSatOnBlocks - you do not care if an animal dies, choking on one of your balloons? Your bit of gaudy rubbish matters more than the life of a horse or cow or deer?

Heartwarming.

I’ll do what I please with the balloons I buy.

Hopefully banned soon so you can't buy any

There has been scrap of a foil balloon stuck in my neighbour's tree since I moved in five years ago. It's pale pink on one side and silver on the other. It was probably a fleeting part of someone's day and now it's just there. Litter in an otherwise spectacular tree.

YANBU at all. Releasing balloons is littering, plus self-centered and stupid.

This is very true.