DANGERS & EFFECTS
Points to ponder before supporting the fireworks industry

Do you really want to be part of all of this?

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DANGERS & EFFECTS

MUNICIPAL BYLAWS

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Fireworks hARM and kill people

People get killed manufacuring fireworks: The mortality rate of gunpowder explosion burns in factory accidents is high

Child labour is still used in the manufacture of fireworks (India and China)

Nearly half of all the fireworks produced in China fail to meet basic quality and safety standards (China Labour Bulletin)

Irresponsible and criminal use of fireworks poses a danger to both the people using them and innocent members of the public

Firecrackers (25%), rockets (21%), and sparklers (11%) accounted for most of the injuries seen in emergency departments during 2001 (Greene 2002)

Children are 11 times more likely to be injured by fireworks

People who stand too close to the fireworks run a high risk of being harmed

Bottle rockets are the single greatest cause of eye injuries requiring hospitalization

Bottle rockets are particularly dangerous because their flight path is erratic, their fuses are non-standard and their explosive power is enough to turn a 'launch site' bottle or can into shrapnel

Sparklers can ignite clothing and hair. Three sparklers burning together create the heat of a blow torch.

Fireworks hARM and kill ANIMALS

Fireworks have been proven to be detrimental to companion animals and wildlife

Using fireworks near animals is both cruel and inhumane as explosive fireworks cause animals immense fear and stress

Animals who are too close to firework explosions often suffer significant burns and eye damage

Dogs often run and catch thrown fireworks in their mouths believing them to be toys

The ears of most animals are considerably more sensitive than the human ear and fireworks can permanently affect their acute sense of hearing

Many animals are terrified of these noises and break free or jump fences to try and escape the terror

Animals fleeing from fireworks often get lost or killed.  Dogs are  prone to being hit by cars and birds are prone to breaking their necks by flying into buildings

A bull trying to escape his pen in response to a fireworks display died after becoming impaled on the fence

Dogs are brought to shelters with paws bloody from running or torn skin from tearing through a backyard wooden fence or, worse, crippled from being hit by a car

Most birds fly away in fright and nesting mothers endanger the well-being of nestlings when they sometimes cannot find their own nest upon return

Laying hens show extremely low egg production the day after fireworks and the eggs are often malformed (Dr. Ian Duncan, an ethologist at the University of Guelph, Ontario)

Waterfowl become entangled in remnants of fireworks that land in waterways and ponds

Fish ingest the debris and die, sometimes even causing the deaths of scavenging animals that eat them

After fireworks, wildlife rehabilitators experience an increase in orphaned birds, squirrels, and other small mammals.

Even butterflies are at direct risk of becoming disoriented, injured, and killed.

The combined responses to fireworks of panic and disorientation can result in birds' flying into a building or too far out to sea. (Dr. David Noakes, a zoologist at the University of Guelph, Ontario)

Sound from loud gunshots on snow geese found that the birds reduced their feeding time

In 1996, research demonstrated that hatchling and juvenile black ducks grew slower and had less body weight than black ducks living in low-noise areas

Zoo staff often express particular concerns for their animals' safety.

Fireworks DAMAGE AND DESTROY PROPERTY

Fireworks have set fire to buildings

Fireworks DAMAGE AND DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT

Fireworks have started grass and forest fires

The explosion of fireworks releases poisonous chemicals and particle-laden smoke, contaminating our natural environment

Fireworks produce light pollution, noise pollution, air pollution, debris and litter