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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

... to be irritated by pet owners going on about fireworks given the impact that people having pets has on society and the environment?

353 replies

Kallyderon · 19/10/2019 21:02

It's just about time for the annual whingefest about people setting off fireworks to start and it's boring. If you own a domestic animal then your animal impacts on people around you all year round in terms of waste, meat production, safety, sanitation and noise. It also impacts on wildlife.

Given that, and given that no one is obliged to own another living creature, it's a bit much to expect all the other humans around you to refrain from doing something they enjoy because it might make your dog unhappy.

Tbh there are sound environmental reasons for opposition to fireworks but they don't do even half as much damage to wild creatures and their habitats as the average cat or dog, so that's a moot point anyway and obviously not of great concern to you otherwise you wouldn't own a dog.

So AIBU to say give it a rest?

OP posts:
FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 10:33

Fairly likely that another intelligent race will come along I mean.

swingofthings · 20/10/2019 10:35

I don't have pets and I hate fireworks in this country. What we call firework is nothing more than pathetic lights that make a lot of startling and unpleasant noise. What it is that people like about them mystifies me.

Huge fireworks are another matter, there is an artistic aspect to them, but this country is quite pants when it comes to them, except maybe the London one on NYD.

Cornettoninja · 20/10/2019 10:36
Hmm

Really? Such over dramatic reasoning - you just want to play with explosives for bangs and pretty lights.

Just own it instead of creating battle lines and deliberately being antagonistic.

Fuck me, some people really can’t get through life without looking for a fight somewhere.

Fishcakey · 20/10/2019 10:39

My friend complaining about fireworks waking up her kids every year is much more annoying than anyone moaning about their animals (my Labrador used to be terrified by the way and it was so awful for her and she never ruined anyone's natural habitat!).

AllStarBySmashMouth · 20/10/2019 10:40

No one is obliged to have children and yet you wouldn't be happy if people were doing something that hurt them, would you?

FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 10:43

No one is obliged to have children and yet you wouldn't be happy if people were doing something that hurt them, would you?

Getting back to the topic; yes, this^^, exactly.

redchocolatebutton · 20/10/2019 10:47

yanbu - pets don't trump humans and their environmental impact, which can be big depending on the kind of pet, needs to be considered.

but yabu about fireworks for the general public. they are a nuisance and dangerous and fireworks should only be available for professional displays.

RainbowAlicorn · 20/10/2019 10:48

Fireworks don't scare my cat, he isn't bothered. But YABVVU. Fireworks shouldn't be on sale to the general public anyway! How many of you know the laws around fireworks, the dates they can be let off and the times they can be let off? I'm guessing not a lot as there are always fireworks going off outside of these times. Fireworks are dangerous, they are mini bombs that are pretty. There are always bonfires and firework displays, go to those.
As I have already stated my cat isn't bothered by fireworks, but my DS is scared of them. Not much fun when other people start letting off fireworks at random times and we have to go and console a crying 2 year old.

lynsey91 · 20/10/2019 10:52

I used to love fireworks. When I was young we would have a little display in the back garden but ONLY on 5th November.

Now they often start some time in October and go on and on and on and on for weeks. Last year I kept a note of every night there were fireworks (some nights only 1 or 2 but other nights lots of them) and we heard them continuously for SEVEN WEEKS! How the hell can that be ok? Also quite a few times they were going off well after midnight

I have 2 dogs. Neither were scared of fireworks until some moron let off a firework as we walked past his garden. It was 3pm so not even dark and not even close to 5th November. One of my dogs has been scared ever since.

That is the problem. Far too many morons who think that letting them off during the day or on any random day is clever or funny.

I dislike fireworks now. They cause distress or even injury or death to animals. Heard of 2 dogs last year so frightened by the noise they managed to get out of their gardens and ran in panic - one hit and killed by a car and one by a train. There must have been many more killed or injured.

I read of a horse who miscarried through fright when a firework went off close to her.

Last year I was sick and tired of the noise. Why is it necessary to have them louder and louder each year? They are not pretty, they sound like bombs going off. I had to keep turning my tv up to try and drown the bangs out.

ScreamingValenta · 20/10/2019 10:52

pets don't trump humans

And this is where we have gone wrong as a race - seeing ourselves as more important that the billions of other animal and plant species on the planet.

  • Humans don't trump ants
  • Humans don't trump elephants
  • Humans don't trump blades of grass
  • Humans don't trump bacteria
  • Humans don't trump fleas

We are all on this planet together, but humans are the only ones who think they have a right to destroy it for their own purposes. We are not superior to any other living organism. We are all in it together.

RainbowAlicorn · 20/10/2019 10:53

Ih and in regards to the 'keeping something that destroys habitats' do you like foxes OP?

FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 10:56

And this is where we have gone wrong as a race - seeing ourselves as more important that the billions of other animal and plant species on the planet.

But pets are a human invention. They are part of our impact on the planet, not separate to it.

No, we don't trump wildlife, but pets are not part of the environment. They are a manmade concept and there is now an unnatural number of animals which wouldn't even exist if they weren't our playthings.

lynsey91 · 20/10/2019 10:57

I should also add that as a considerate dog owner I always clean up after them and I don't allow them to keep barking.

If they bark at the postman they will bark maybe twice and stop. If for any reason they don't I tell them to. My neighbours could never say they are bothered by my dogs. I, on the other hand, have neighbours with 3 children each both sides and have to listen to their children screaming, shouting at each other, shouting at their parents, the parents shouting at the children etc etc.

DriftingLeaves · 20/10/2019 10:59

We are not superior to any other living organism.

But we are. Daft to think otherwise.

ScreamingValenta · 20/10/2019 11:02

They are a manmade concept

As they exist now, perhaps, but the concept of domestication was originally one of mutual benefit - when the first cat sought shelter by someone's fire and 'in return' ate some rodents that had been consuming the human's food stores. As with everything else, humans have over-complicated pet ownership and turned it into something with a huge environmental footprint, but there was nothing wrong with the original concept.

doombaby · 20/10/2019 11:04

The difference there though is that you can sit in your house knowing a dog isn’t going to suddenly appear...

Surely this only applies if your housebound though? Most people have to leave the house & cannot know if a dog will appear or not. You are much more likely to see a dog than hear a firework most of the time.

Like I said I see both points of view but generally dog owners rights to have a dog trumps other people's fear of them. Looking at things from a dangerous perspective dogs kill children & the sentences handed to the owners are often a joke

bigbluebus · 20/10/2019 11:11

They even whinge about organised displays around here. A local wedding venue gives advance notice on local Facebook pages if there's going to be a rare 10 min firework display after a wedding - and all the horse owners in the area still complain. Likewise there was a moan on another local page the other day from a Kennels about an organised display taking place on 2nd Nov.

doombaby · 20/10/2019 11:11

No, it's not a common fear.

From a Metro article "A phobia of dogs, known as Cynophobia, is one of the UK's top 15 fears, according to a YouGov survey, while the Dogs Trust claims over a third of children are scared of the nation's favourite pet."

I wouldn't say those stats are rare.

doombaby · 20/10/2019 11:16

If you are talking about the environment, we don't need more children.

I wasn't actually, I was taking about the economy although it's a whole other topic. We have an ageing population & a shrinking tax paying one, it's a huge challenge.

FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 11:20

As with everything else, humans have over-complicated pet ownership and turned it into something with a huge environmental footprint, but there was nothing wrong with the original concept.

Yep! So, now what? Assuming we don't die out all that soon.

ScreamingValenta · 20/10/2019 11:29

So, now what? Assuming we don't die out all that soon.

Sadly, I think the problems will only be solved when we all die out - unless something else happens to force humans back to a much more primitive lifestyle.

We will die out sooner or later - if we manage not to nuke ourselves, the cause will probably be viral - something either killing people directly, or causing a reduction in fertility. Or else, environmental conditions will become incompatible with life.

FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 11:31

Sadly, I think the problems will only be solved when we all die out

But what if that takes a thousand years or more? Do you think we should continue to do as we please until then, or would you rather see us at least trying to mitigate the damage?

FeckOffGraham · 20/10/2019 11:32

And of course we will die out eventually! That's a given. But it might take a bit longer than you are hoping.

captainprincess · 20/10/2019 11:36

@ScreamingValenta I agree. We have no more right to be here than any other animal.