to expect neighbours of the field where my animals live, to warn me about sodding fireworks?

[Sparrowlegs248]

Just that really. 5Horses and some cows. Broken fencing, traumatised panicky animals. Not sure about injuries as too dark to tell. Had i been told that these particular morons neighbours were having fireworks i could have moved animals and administered sedatives. But no. No warning. From an elderly couple too. Annoyed isn't the word.

Tuppenceinred Wed 06-Nov-13 09:03:28

Initgrand - I really don't care about that

The trouble with opening your post like this Tuppence is that, if you are not prepared to consider anyone else's point of view, they might not consider yours.

Afternoon. I had to take most of the day off to rectify the damaged fence and move animals about. And currently waiting for the vet as the old horse is colicky. His leg doesn't look too bad, some surface abrasions and swelling, most likely from dashing about the field in the dark. But, his upset has a knock in effect in that he is mildly colicky this evening but given his age i am not taking any chances.

Collected a number of spent fireworks from the field today 14 metre long sticks and 9 plastic caps aswell as various charred cardboard tubes.

I haven't spoken to the neighbours because i actually don't want to be rude so wait until i am feeling calmer.

Thank you for some very supportive posts.

Whatever your view on fireworks, it can't be acceptable to any sane person to think its ok for your spent fireworks to fall in the field with animals?

We have a full herd of horses who have seen and done it so often they are genuinely not bothered, they are safer out than in and the older ones calm the youngsters. Horses/animals in a more rural situation will not be as used to it and are likely to panic, I also wouldn't have expected it close up when we lived in the back of beyond. It would have been good manners to have warned animal owning neighbours, YANBU! I prefer mine out because I worry about stables catching fire with stray fireworks but a panicking and galloping horse can end up badly injured, cows too I would imagine, so you should have been given the heads up so you could make a choice.

They were kept at a different place for many years where they had to be stabled at night. A neighbour always had fireworks, they always told us, i would get them in early feed them and put the radio on. The neighbour was two paddocks away and while some of the horses were unsettled, its wsn't happening over their heads.

This was right next door. Behind the hedge. Pointing over our fields.

I'm with you OP. I would expect someone letting off fireworks near animals to use common sense and let the owner know enough in advance for them to be made safe. It is insane to let of fireworks near horses and cattle- maybe some posters have no idea of the weight and strength of a horse? I live in a similar rural area and we would let neighbours know, as there are dogs, chickens and horses nearby. Fireworks are also dangerous when spent, as they contain all sorts of highly toxic chemicals, not something one would want in your field with large animals. Hope your old boy is ok.

Just to say - Initgrand said
"I have lived in the countryside for 45 years and in all that time there have been fireworks on 5th November.
WE have a horsefield at the bottome of our garden and they were taken in last night and the cows seem to have gone in now too."
Paste and I quite honestly replied that I don't care about that - and I don't. And I very much doubt that my ranting on here will change any opinions so I don't really care how anyone reacted to what I said.

The fact that someone has lived in the countryside for a long time and in that particular area there have always been fireworks... and that animals get taken in... Doesn't really seem to have a lot to do with a discussion going on about whether or not it is reasonable to exercise one's legal right to scare animals witless by letting off fireworks inconsiderately close to where they are.

Some years ago (also in a rural area) some neighbours said they were going to have some fireworks. So we moved the two horses to a field further away. All went well until one firework went off with such a huge bang, it was unbelievably loud and shocking.
We found one horse with a shoe twisted and hanging off, which wasn't great. The neighbours were mortified, they had no idea this particular firework would be so loud, it had frightened them as well.
OP I hope your old horse is feeling better soon.

I had a horse when I was young and every bonfire night was spent with him in the stables because he was afraid of loud bangs. He was my responsibility, so I made sure he had company. I didn't expect people not to have fireworks, that would have been selfish and daft.

Did you spend every night there for a fortnight? Because you know, 'when I was young' people only let off their fireworks on the proper night, or not at all see previous thread.

They are still going off here now, and it's so cloudy and drizzly I doubt very much that people can even see them so what's the point?

Tuppenceinred Initgrand 's post was a bit misleading, as a lot of horses will be coming in at nights now anyway, because its the winter.

OP I really hope the colic doesn't develop further and your horse recovers. Stress is a known cause of colic. Appalling finding so many spent fireworks on your land.

I say that an animal's health and safety trumps anyones right to look at some fireworks. They have lived next to these animals for years but couldn't spare a few minutes to write a note for the OP?

With horses and fireworks it isn't just about the noise being inconvenient, it could potentially lead to the death of an animal.

And I say this as someone who has never even ridden a horse.

I haven't read the full thread (normally I do so please don't shoot me!) because I'm supposed to be getting ready for work!

But I think YANBU. Yes, it was bonfire night. But if you only have a couple of neighbours, and in the last seven years they haven't let off fireworks before, then some warning that this year would be different would have been nice!

I mean, you mentioned sedation in your OP. were you have supposed to have sedated your animals every bonfire night and the closest Friday and Saturday nights, for the last seven years, just on the off chance? So that would have been around 21 sedations, when really they only needed 1? How dangerous for your animals! It's one thing keeping dogs inside and using natural products like DAP on a precautionary basis, but sedating big animals!

Did you spend every night there for a fortnight?
Yes ,but the thread isn't about that whether it's reasonable to set them off a fortnight before.It is about whether it is reasonable to expect fireworks on the 5th November

There are some occasions when I am sure I wouldn't dream of letting off fireworks. One of those would be if I was next to a field of livestock, and particularly I wouldn't think it was in any way reasonable or fair to the animals to actually point the fireworks over the field - as Op's neighbours did. That's regardless of what the date happened to be. So what if it's fucking firework night? That doesn't give permission for stupidity.

I had a horse when I was a teenager. A ton of very, very loud fireworks went off on NYE one year (at about 4:30am, I'd stayed with him at midnight but no fireworks then) miles away (extremely rural area). He heard them and completely flipped out. He kicked his stall to pieces and somehow broke the extremely heavy stable door off it's hinges, jumped all our very high fences, ran straight through a small electric fence and dragged part of that along with him for a while, galloped for about 15 miles and ended up completely caught up in a faraway neighbors barb wired fencing. When we finally found him the next day he'd been dead for many hours, his heart had given out. That someone would let off fireworks when they live right next to a field of livestock shocks me. Even if the animals were all brought in, a big animal in a panic can do a lot of damage and potentially free themselves anyway.

Realistically a lot of people can't move all their animals to a different, completely secluded area for one night on the off chance someone lets of fireworks, and sedating multiple big animals every time someone might let a couple of fireworks off isn't good for the animals, and may not be suitable for some individual animals anyway.

knc111

thats really really sad

I am city dweller, animal "eater" and yet that really got the point across

how awful

YABU to expect people to consider you and your animals. Many people don't give a toss won't consider that animals will be affected, they just think 'ooh lots of pretty colours in the sky, how fun.

YANBU to be angry and upset that people do this. I **ing hate fireworks. Ideally want them banned, not going to happen until 4040 or something so for now I just want the regulations around them to be more strict. Anybody can get hold of fireworks, they're explosives and should not be in the hands of the general public.

That's awful knc - you must have been so devastated. Okay, in that instance, the people responsible for setting fireworks miles away can't have anticipated the dreadful outcome, but your story just goes to show how much animals can be affected. In view, of what can happen - even miles away - it beggars belief that someone would set them off right next door to a field of livestock, and apparently not think, nor care about the potential dangers.

Nottalotta, I am with you on this. it wouldnt have hurt your neighbours to mention that they were letting fireworks off, from their house which is right next to a field full of animals. Totaly selfish.

Yes it is their right to let off fireworks, but come on, it was bloody stupid not to inform you what they were doing. I would have picked up all the sticks and other rubbish from the field and dumped it in their bloody garden

When I was a child we lived in a part of Pembrokeshire that had large oil refineries nearby. They would throw huge firework events. But there were far more ground based fireworks, the fountain types, and Catherine Wheels, than rockets. In recent years I have noticed that all organised displays and even home ones, seem to have just rockets. The bangs get louder every year. These bother all animals more than the older more decorative type did. The bang of a large rocket carries for miles, even in London. I wish there would be a return to the quieter type.

I think OP you'd find from a legal point of view you have no recourse against the neighbours (but you probably know that anyway).

I take it the neighbours know you have animals? Larger than a cat/dog?

Normally it's only for parties you give notice (eg noise levels).

I would be tempted (i know you're fuming) to write some sort of polite note explaining how traumatised your animals were and if they plan to do this next year could they please give you prior notice? if they're decent they will do this.

RTFT

What does that mean peeking?

I have spoken to neighbours. They really don't care that i have had two out of hours vets visits to my traumatised elderly horse. I was very polite. The fuckers.

HelloBoys I do know that its not an ongoing nuisance or escape of a dangerous thing from the neighbours but I do think its not impossible to raise a case. And by raising a case, you can make life damned awkward for them. Or alternatively you could raise an injunction against them for the "fireworks period" next year. Which could make it tricky to sell their house, or affect its value. In fact, causing a dispute with the OP in the way they have done should now be declared if they sell.

Just thinking outside the box. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to go down this line, but I do think that there are certain steps an aggrieved neighbour could take so as to make fireworks less attractive in the future.

Criminal damage to the field with the rockets found in it as well perhaps?

As for the expecting fireworks points continuously touted through this thread, there's a fucking massive display going on now. How long are people with animals expected to have to assume there will be fireworks?