鈥淩emember, remember, the fifth of November鈥� goes the traditional UK nursery rhyme. Oh, if only I could forget. In my corner of London this year, the fireworks started weeks before this, during the festival of Diwali.
For a while, the nights sound like a war is breaking out, with non-stop distant rumbling punctuated by closer explosions 鈥� and there鈥檚 always someone who sets their fireworks off at 1 am.
Some have it much worse. In England alone, for . These injuries, typically to the hands, face and eyes, can be life-changing 鈥� such as the loss of fingers and sight.
Advertisement
If you are thinking these people have only themselves to blame, no, that isn鈥檛 always the case. Sometimes they are the victims of careless friends or relatives, or even of deliberate attacks using fireworks as weapons. In August this year, in a random attack.
Many more people might be harmed in a more subtle way听产测 the polluting smoke from fireworks. The colour of fireworks is typically due to the metals they contain, and many of these metals are known to affect the body, says air pollution expert Martin Williams from King鈥檚 College London.
It is plausible that the air pollution from fireworks is especially harmful, says Williams. No one has shown that this is the case, but absence of evidence isn鈥檛 evidence of absence 鈥� it is hard to establish a link statistically given that firework pollution peaks on just a few nights a year and can vary hugely depending on the neighbourhood and weather.
As countless pet owners know only too well, fireworks also cause great stress to many animals. That includes farm animals and wildlife as well as pets. I have seen panicked birds flying frantically away late at night when fireworks explode nearby. There was even .
Sometimes fireworks can even kill animals. On New Year鈥檚 Eve 2010, for instance, thousands of red-winged blackbirds were found dead in Beebe, Arkansas. It is thought they were scared by a firework display and hit obstacles as they tried to fly in the dark.
Animal welfare organisations such as . In fact, such fireworks are already available and a reduced bang typically means more light and colour.
I think we should be more radical. An outright ban on sales to private individuals is the only way to address all the issues with fireworks. Until recently, I thought I was a lone killjoy. But no, far from it.
A found that 87 per cent of respondents want a ban. The government there is . A separate , with 58 per cent backing a ban.
And in the UK as a whole, more than 300,000 people recently signed a petition calling for tighter controls. Sainsbury鈥檚, a UK supermarket, has already from sale.
The case against fireworks is compelling. They are dangerous, bad for our health and scare the hell out of many animals, as well as being a bloody nuisance. It is time to ban their sale to private individuals and restrict their use to licensed displays. That way, those who enjoy fireworks can still see spectacular shows while minimising the harm done.
