A baby red panda at Edinburgh zoo choked on her own vomit in terror at the fireworks last week

[OptimismvsRealism]

Aibu to think the time has come to ban this bullshit?

Personally, I find the needless suffering of both people and animals offensive, simply because selfish people want to hear bangs. It's rather pathetic. But then I feel the same about sport and the pan-banging fiasco too.

Empty vessels make the most noise.

Your first paragraph is perfectly valid, but your final sentence is just unnecessary & means I can't take you seriously 🤷🏼‍♀️

I don't need a random internet user to take me seriously. HTH.

No I didn’t know there was a zoo near the harbour.
To be fare I had the entire world to think about 🤯

I hope you have told the school what their firework display has done
Personally I’d give them some pictures!

The point really is that if this is happening to the sheep as PP noted it’s more than likely happening to wildlife that we know nothing about.

@Serencwtch isnt that the wider point you were making?

Bonfire night wasn’t historically celebrated in Ireland as it was all about burning Catholics

Yes exactly. We know that fireworks damage the sensitive hearing/navigation systems in migratory birds & bees which leads to their death. Hedgehogs preparing to hibernate can also affected.

That's just the bangs - the pollution & litter from rockets landing in livestock fields & wildlife areas also kills.

We have buzzards, kites & owls nesting on the farm - all of which are in decline.

We found a dead buzzard last week - no way of knowing how/why it died but the recent fireworks could have been to blame.

All extremely sad but people still dig their heals in
Suggest writing to your MP and Daniel Zeichner MP for farming
Possibly Mary Creagh MP aswell, MP for the environment and rural affairs

Ive just dropped ours an email.

If the majority of ppl didn't like fireworks then there'd be no demand for paid-for events & the silent ones would have taken over already.

Badly flawed logic.
Only a small minority of people go to these events. All they need is for enough people to cover their costs.

There's all sorts of things society tolerated or encouraged in the past but which we don't now because we understand the harms.

Who on earth puts the momentary extra enjoyment some people might experience from noisy fireworks vs suffering and even death inflicted on animals and other humans who can't escape the noise? Would they really enjoy a silent display, or one with music - maybe a drone light show? - so much less as to be worth the distress?

I really enjoy fireworks (sorry) but I’ve never been able to understand the rationale for allowing the sale of explosives to the general public to use at home.

News articles

So sad. What kind of muppets would think it's ok to let off fireworks anywhere remotely within distance of a zoo?

@Bortand

I don't want to come across as full of virtue but I don't eat eggs or drink milk.

I do really love a mini baby bel though!!!

I said this on the other thread but I didn’t think zoos were a stress free environment for animals….

So was this the first time in recorded history fireworks could be heard/seen from the zoo?

Just wondering as the zoo should have things in place to deal with this

I've no strong view in either direction about a ban, but if the kit was believed to be so vulnerable, why wasn't it shut up for firework nights in a sleeping box or whatever? After all we keep pets inside on such nights, so why not the panda?

Or maybe it was tucked away safely and died even there ...

Those… are made of milk?

Or in zoos. But apparently it's the fireworks that are the problem. I am very against the banning of fireworks.

And also if they believed (and this is the word they use, they don't even know for sure fireworks were the cause) that fireworks caused the mum so much stress only a few days earlier that she died, why did they action to take further precautions with the baby?!? Why didn't they move the animal indoors where it was quieter or have someone stay with it. Seems ludicrous to have had one death then to take no action.

I do think all but very carefully planned public events should be banned now. There are too calendar events now where fireworks are used in celebration. Silent fireworks and limited days would be a massive step forward.

banning Zoo and leaving animals in their natural environment will not happen in my life time

The red panda is on the endangered list. When it comes off that list I will be happy for zoos to no longer have them.

The issue of fireworks and the antisocial and criminal behaviour goes far beyond this tragic incident.

What kind of muppets would think it's ok to let off fireworks anywhere remotely within distance of a zoo?

Again, it’s really not an issue. Here is a statement from our zoo located right in the harbour with the best view/sound of massive fireworks each year. Seemingly some animals get very excited in advance when they see the barges being set up for it (done weeks in advance). No animals drop dead and the birds don’t lose their hearing.

edited to add, here is a statement from the zoo saying there is no issue with the animals
https://taronga.org.au/news/2018-07-11/fireworks-and-taronga