12/14/23 Care for others should come before disturbing fun!
Almost 50 towns and districts declared they will not organize a New Year’s fireworks display!
As we are nearing the end of another year, Animal Friends Croatia would like to remind everyone that buying and setting off category F2 and F3 firecrackers and bandoliers is prohibited throughout the year. The organization stresses that the use of other pyrotechnic devices is allowed from December 27th to January 1st, and not from December 15th, when just their sale begins. Citizens are asked to show empathy for animals, children, the elderly, and other people. They are also asked not to use allowed pyrotechnic devices either since even those are dangerous to people and lethal to animals.
Animal Friends Croatia states as follows: “Despite it being prohibited by law, over the last few years we received almost daily complaints about the use of firecrackers and other prohibited pyrotechnic devices. As soon as the sale of pyrotechnic devices begins, so does their use, even though it is still prohibited at that moment.”
Therefore, the organization appealed to the Ministry of the Interior for better control of selling and using pyrotechnic devices: “We are urging the police to tighten controls on the use of firecrackers and bandoliers through the entire month of December and the beginning of January by sending out additional patrol units to ensure that people abide by the ban.”
The organization also requested an amendment – more precisely, that the sale of legal pyrotechnic devices is allowed in the period from December 27th to December 31st, and their use only in the period between December 31st and January 1st, i.e. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Right now, it is also allowed from December 27th to December 30th, when there are no reasons to celebrate.
According to Animal Friends Croatia, New Year’s fireworks are neither a necessary nor an indispensable way to celebrate, which is illustrated by an increasing number of towns and districts that have quit organizing them over the past few years and have instead turned to celebrations without noise, explosions, and environmental pollution. In its letter, the organization invited all towns and districts to be part of these positive changes and celebrate New Year’s in an eco-friendly and modern way, to which almost 50 of them responded by saying that they want to set a good example for their citizens.
To the delight of the citizens as well as their pets, many cities and towns have become involved in the initiative, which now includes Zagreb, Rijeka, Osijek, Zadar, Pula, Vara¾din, Dubrovnik, Samobor, and Vinkovci. As other positive examples the organization mentions the towns Èazma and Grubi¹no Polje, which have replaced fireworks with laser shows, and the town of Opatija, which will continue its tradition of donating the money intended for fireworks to animals. Animal Friends Croatia thanks everybody involved in the initiative and believes that others will follow these great examples.
The organization’s statement reads: “We would like to remind you of the negative consequences fireworks can have on animals, people, and the environment. Numerous animals, especially birds, but house pets as well, get hurt on New Year’s Eve because of heart failure caused by fear. Organizing fireworks encourages children to use pyrotechnic devices as well, which leads to horrific injuries. Furthermore, for people who are sensitive to noise, it is quite difficult to handle the extremely loud noise on New Year’s Eve. Not only do fireworks disturb people and animals, but they also pollute the air by releasing a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which can be harmful to both the environment and human health and flood the streets with garbage.”
The list of towns and districts that declared that they will not organize a New Year’s fireworks display can be viewed HERE.
Translated by: Dario Rajkoviæ
![Dog scared of firework noise [ 399.47 Kb ]](/data/image_3_13124.jpg "Dog scared of firework noise [ 399.47 Kb ]")
