Here’s another reason for not using firecrackers to celebrate the start of the New Year—they pose a risk not only to your health but your pet’s as well.
Environmental group Eco-Waste Coalition issued this reminder yesterday as its members gathered in front of Manila Zoo to dramatize their opposition to the use of fireworks in welcoming 2012.
Wearing cardboard hats in the shape of animals, the Malikhaing Landas na Magpapayabong sa Sining at Kultura (Malaya) acted out how dogs and cats panic and hide whenever they hear the painfully loud noises caused by fireworks displays.
“Our New Year’s revelry is like a terrifying battlefield for cats, dogs and other animals whose ears are far more sensitive than humans’. It’s like being subjected to ear-splitting acoustical torture for them,” said Aileen Lucero, the group’s Iwas PapuToxic campaigner.
EcoWaste Coalition, quoting veterinarians, said firecracker explosions may cause “acoustic trauma” for animals whose sense of hearing is at least 10 times more delicate than that of humans.
The ensuing panic also upsets their stomachs or make them too anxious to even eat.
The animals may also get poisoned when they accidentally eat or come in contact with firecrackers and the gases they emit, the group pointed out in a press statement.
The group added that if firecrackers and fireworks can’t be shunned, people should prepare “comfort zones” for their pets where they can hide from toxic fumes and noises.
On Monday, EcoWaste Coalition had also held a demonstration at the Our Lady of Remedies Parish Church in Malate, with children using alternative noisemakers to welcome the New Year.
Rev. Fr. John Leydon, the parish priest, noted that: “With a little creativity, we can have a joyful celebration with our families and neighbors without causing toxic fumes and wastes and loud cries from children wounded in firecracker explosions.”