07/03/2025
"That fireworks’ noise and light is disturbing and distressing to animals is well known to most pet owners. Noise phobia in dogs is a well-documented response to fireworks (e.g. Dale et al. 2010).
In a survey from New Zealand, owners reported that 74.4% of companion animals, from horses to small mammals, showed fear responses to fireworks (Gates et al. 2019). Horse owners reported increased running in response to fireworks, often associated with fence-breaking and injury (Gronqvist et al. 2016). Observation of several mammal and bird species in a German zoo before, during and after 6–8 min long firework displays over two evenings showed increased nervousness, movement, withdrawal to indoor areas (Rodewald et al. 2014).
Data from 3 years of weather radar in the Netherlands showed that thousands of birds take flight shortly after fireworks are lit at midnight on New Year’s Eve (Shamoun-Baranes et al. 2011). Hundreds of thousands of birds are disturbed in this way, flushing them from wetlands where they rest. Similar examples are global: in Poland, urban Eurasian Magpies (Pica pica) roost together in larger communal roosts than in ex-urban areas, but roost size sharply and suddenly declines on New Year’s Eve due to fireworks (Karolewski et al. 2014). On Lake Zurich in Switzerland, New Year fireworks can cause a 26–35% drop in swan, goose, and duck numbers overnight, the numbers recovering over 3–10 days (Weggler 2015). At Lake Constance in Germany, a firework display on the 13 September 2010 caused extreme flight reactions in multiple waterbird species, causing over 4000 waterbirds to flee from the area almost immediately. Many waterbird species are in wing-moult at this time of year, so it is significant that even temporarily flightless birds left the area and stayed absent for over 2 days. As Lake Constance is a recognised refuge for moulting waterbirds, this fireworks display has subsequently been banned (Werner 2015). At Beebe, Arkansas, USA, two powerful displays of New Year fireworks in 2011 and 2012 caused the deaths of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) that were disturbed from winter roosts at night and, in their flight, collided with each other (Chilson et al. 2012).
Fireworks cause pollution, releasing sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particles, aluminium, manganese etc., in a black smoke of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur (Sijimol and Mohan 2014). The particulate matter released has a profound and immediate negative effect on air quality, but declines rapidly over the next 24 h (Singh et al. 2019). After firework displays, particles released can be five times higher than background levels (Cao et al. 2018). In New Zealand, a steep rise in particulate matter has been reported after fireworks, with much of it coming from small, hand-held sparklers (Rindelaub et al. 2021). Dangi and Bhise (2020) reported multiple respiratory and allergic responses in residents at a site after Diwali celebration. The toxicity of the particulate matter released is high – tests with mice and human cell cultures indicate high inflammatory responses and adverse effects on cells and lung tissue (Hickey et al. 2020). Of particular concern is the presence of the inorganic anion perchlorate (as potassium perchlorate and ammonium perchlorate), which contributes to the explosions and light associated with fireworks (Wu et al. 2011). Perchlorates are water soluble and stable, leaching into water bodies and being taken up by plants after release, and making their way into insects, mammals, amphibians and fishes (reviewed in Sijimol and Mohan 2014). Perchlorate is a major health concern as it inhibits thyroid function in amphibians, reptiles and mammals, decreasing thyroid hormone output – it also has a role in causing reproductive, neurodevelopmental, developmental, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic issues (Utley 2002)."
