To think ''Chinese Lanterns'' should be banned?

[ThatGingerOne]

Seen several posts now of horses being horrifically injured from the lanterns landing on them. Other stories of course about them starting fires too. Does anyone else agree they're too dangerous to be used?

Giddy by that logic you could do anything harmful so long as it makes you feel better.

Agreed that the lanterns are stupid and dangerous.

Our neighbour's (ridiculously stupid) cocker spaniel choked to death on one of those helium foil balloons that they think had drifted into their garden. It was horrible, just fortunate that it wasn't one of the kids that found the dog. Haven't bought a balloon since.

If someone starts a petition for that I'd sign it too.

chickychicky That's awful! Lots of birds and animals have been reported to get tangled up in the strings and dying that way too; I don't know what people think will happen to the stuff after it is released.

KittyAlPick There are plenty knocking around if you google for them although I'm not sure which is best so won't post a link. I know some councils have banned them but it should be country wide I think

Yadnbu - vile things, and I'm sorry for anyone's loss but balloon releases should be banned too

I agree, I hate them. Anything that ends.up strewn around the country should be banned. I think people get fixed penalties for.chucking apple cores in the hedge so how is this OK?

Balloons piss me off too, although 9ne of the most hilarious threads I have ever read on here was a bun fight about helium balloons 😀

Yanbu.
Balloon releases are banned in the London parks for creature health/litter grounds. I've seen people do bubble releases for memorials which I think is nice

They should absolutely be banned.

Without meaning to be insensitive in any way, bereaved people have a lot of other means available to commemorate their loved ones without causing potential harm to wildlife and nature. I personally couldn't countenance launching a Chinese lantern in memory of someone, knowing it could kill an animal or set fire to someone's home.

I agree, they should be banned. We left a wedding reception where they practically forced guests to release them across a national park.

YADNBU - my DH had to evacuate.a very busy night club on NYE a couple of years ago (he was a senior police officer,at the time) as one had somehow got caught in an air vent and the smoke was pouring through the air vents into the night club. It was absolutely pouring at the time and it was a few minutes before midnight. He was apparently called a few choice words that night but he couldn't take the risk in a busy night club.

I for a ban too, they cause to much troble. It's not like the people that send them off , run after them and clean the rubbish up.

The lanterns have been banned in my part of the country. I'd be happy to see balloon releases banned too, they also cause wildlife deaths.

balloonsblow.org/impacts-on-wildlife-and-environment/

www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/how-balloon-releases-harm-wildlife/

Sadly it seems that banning is a bit piecemeal - I am sure most thinking people would agree that only a total ban UK wide preventing the sale of these lanterns would ensure they disappear for good.
Helium balloons are less dangerous as they are not a fire hazard but people who feel the need to release these (often they are charity balloon races with tags to identify winners) should think carefully about where they are released and their justification for creating what is essentially 'litter' that can be dangerous to animals.

I think quite a few local authority areas have banned them haven't they? Many shops no longer sell them where I live.

We used to occasionally set them off (Glastonbury, summer parties) but that was before there was this level of awareness about the damage they cause. I wouldn't set them off any more. Wish they weren't so dangerous because they are very pretty and atmospheric. But yes I think the time has come for them to be banned.

I agree that lanterns and balloon releases should be banned. It's a dangerous form of littering.

I want chinese lanterns and balloons banned.

It's unnecessary and dangerous.

There should be a TV campaign or something, lots of people are not aware of the danger they pose.

Totally agree that fire lanterns should be banned. I don't see how anyone can argue against that if they've given it a moment's rational thought. The trouble is, people don't think - beyond, oh, yeah, thats pretty.

Same with helium balloon releases. Litter for no good reason. There are so many other things you could do instead. It would be good if people would also give a nanosecond's thought to the fact that helium is a limited resource, an element with unique properties that we can't make more of or substitute for in its non-trivial applications, vital for the operation of things such as MRI machines. Yes, its nice for a kid to have one on a special occasion (if they hold onto it) and educational to see how they move in an accelerating/decelerating car. But letting loose dozens to blow where they will - stupid.

I wonder how many (or rather, how few) tags from 'balloon races' ever get found and returned?

Yanbu. Balloon releases need to end too. It all ends up as litter.

YANBU

Well after reading this I agree! I think a lot of people don't realise the damage they can do.

YANBU - I have no idea why anyone thinks they are a good idea. I remember one New Years when I lived in a flat and the downstairs neighbors set one off from their balcony - it blew into our window before thankfully flying off.

I used to work at a horse rescue centre with between 100 and 120 horses on site at any one time. Found the remains of a lantern stuck in a hedge between two of the big fields one day - both fields in use at the time with large groups of horses. If it had been dry enough for the hedge to go up, or if it had landed in either field, the consequences could have been horrendous.

They can also end up being baled in hay or silage and cause harm that way.

I know they look pretty, but they really aren't worth it.

The first time I saw one of these lanterns my thoughts were "you have just lit a fire and sent it off into the sky with no idea where it will land".

Then when I kept seeing them I presumed there must have been safety features I wasn't aware of to reduce the obvious dangers.

Was I wrong all this time?

They surely can't just be floating fireballs?