Fireworks are enjoyed year-round by people but can be a source of fear for many animals and they can release heaviest health damage to animals, up to shock conditions with death sequences. Birds can lose orientation for quite some time because of the unexpected glare of fireworks rockets. Animals which get too near to exploding fireworks can become victims of burns and eye damage. There are also animals which are hit with fireworks intentionally and thus are severely and/or deadly hurt.
Fireworks also leads to more and more problems even by guide dogs for the blind. Every year, guide dogs and other working dogs are forced to retire after being traumatised by the irresponsible use of fireworks. Others have to be sedated, and some even retrained, leaving their owners without mobility for weeks at a time. Every year, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association have to retire four animals because of stress caused by fireworks. Another 150 dogs need further training to deal with problems related to loud bangs. It costs up to $30,000 to train a guide dog and each animal is selected to suit the individual lifestyle of the owner.
For us human beings fireworks have become unbearably loud and have resulted to many thousands each year in inner-ear injuries and even in final hearing damage. Many animal species have an extremely sensitive ear and a cracker, therefore, impairs their hearing more than our human ear! Cats hear better than dogs and much better than human beings; they suffer from loud noises at least as much as a person with a heavy headache. A cat or a dog which is exposed to the bursting of a cracker can endure a long-lasting trauma, even an irreversible ear damage. Fireworks lasting for hours are an acoustical torture for animals.
Every year thousands of animals are brought to animal shelters having run away from home. Others are fleeing in panic; some bump headlong into the next car hurting themselves severely. Others go and hide themselves trembling for fear. Others again grab objects thrown towards them with their mouth imagining they were toys, with the effect that they explode in their mouth.
Panic can also create "stomach upsets" with animals or induce over-reactions. Non-acceptance of food, diarrhea, severe trembling or continuous howling are typical evidences.
Fireworks are terrible for animals, please don’t ignore the problem.
