58 Percent of Germans Want a Ban on Loud Fireworks
New Year's and national holidays without noise and fear: The animal rights organisation PETA commissioned the market research company GfK to conduct a representative survey. The result: More than half of all Germans would happily do without loud, banging fireworks. 58.2 percent of respondents said they were in favour of ringing in the new year without loud fireworks, and among the women surveyed the figure was as high as 65 percent. PETA is now calling on the German federal government to introduce a general ban on noisy fireworks. The extremely loud banging sounds disturb people and also put countless
New Year's and national holidays without noise and fear: The animal rights organisation PETA commissioned the market research company GfK to conduct a representative survey. The result: More than half of all Germans would happily do without loud, banging fireworks. 58.2 percent of respondents said they were in favour of ringing in the new year without loud fireworks, and among the women surveyed the figure was as high as 65 percent. PETA is now calling on the German federal government to introduce a general ban on noisy fireworks. The extremely loud banging sounds disturb people and also put countless animals in danger of their lives.
PETA Calls for a Ban on Loud Banging Fireworks
«The loud fireworks not only frighten our pets and wild animals. Many people also object to loud fireworks on New Year's Eve,» said Jana Hoger, specialist adviser for animal companions at PETA. «More than half of all Germans want a celebration without loud banging. We are asking the federal government to follow the example of others and ban loud fireworks.»
Cities Are Leading the Way
In many places, cities and municipalities are already leading by example and banning fireworks within their territories, including 850 municipalities in Italy, where animal welfare is the primary concern. In 56 cities and municipalities in the Netherlands, private fireworks are prohibited, including Amsterdam, The Hague, and Amersfoort. In Germany too, people in the old towns of Volkach and Tübingen, as well as several municipalities in Thuringia, ring in the new year without loud fireworks. There, fireworks are banned primarily for fire safety reasons. PETA is calling for a nationwide ban on noisy fireworks in Germany, thereby giving greater priority to animal and nature conservation.
Wildlife suffers most
Dogs, cats, birds, and many other animal companions are subjected to enormous stress during the new year celebrations. For many animals, it takes weeks to recover from the shock. Every year, the number of animals that end up in veterinary clinics on New Year's Eve with injuries or broken bones caused by panic-stricken escape attempts continues to rise. People are also harmed, as the loud fireworks cause numerous accidents involving frightened animals each year. Particularly wild animals suffer under the tremendous noise, sense danger, and flee, which costs them a great deal of energy. The extreme stress can weaken wild animals so severely that they do not survive the winter months. More on the topic of animal rights at wildbeimwild.com.
