Explosive materials such as fireworks, which produce sparks, flames and smoke as a result of the reaction, cause various kinds of damage to non-human animals. These usually affect animals that are friends with humans, and we can easily see our animals ' reactions to these explosives. These explosions affect animals confined to farms or other areas, as well as other creatures living both inside and outside urban environments.
Damage Of Fireworks To Animals
Physical Damage To Animals ' Hearing Organs
Because many animals ' hearing is much more sensitive than that of humans, the explosions of fireworks are not only more disturbing to them than they are to us; they can also damage their hearing more severely. The sound emitted by fireworks can be up to 190 decibels (this sound is 110 to 115 decibels more than the 75 to 80 decibel range, which is the beginning of damage in the human ear). Fireworks produce firecrackers, gunshots (140 decibels) and sounds louder than some jets (100 decibels).
The sounds created by fireworks and firecrackers can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus (tinnitus). Dogs are known to suffer from hearing loss, the consequences of which cannot be undone, caused by proximity to the sound of a gun firing.
Fear and stress
In addition to these damages, fireworks also damage animals by scaring them. Even repeated exposure to unexpected and unpredictable loud sounds can create a phobia in many animals, increasing the panic responses they will give to loud sounds they will hear in the future.
In animals that are friends with humans, it is estimated that a fifth of disappearances are mainly caused by loud sounds such as fireworks and storms.
The effect of fireworks in animals can be easily observed in zoos. The sound of fireworks causes excessive stress on animals such as rhinos and Cheetahs, and visibly affects animals such as elephants. It has also been shown that rodents continue to run even minutes after the sound stops.
Harmful Effects Of Chemical Particles
Moreover, firecrackers are poisonous, and their explosions emit harmful particles such as PM10, which are toxic to inhale. It can worsen already existing diseases or lead to others. Therefore, fireworks pose a danger to animals that live both where they are detonated and in relatively remote places where the wind carries particles. There is also a risk that the remains of firecrackers and firecrackers will enter the digestive tract. The animals ' proximity to places where firecrackers are made causes frequent burning and damage to the eyes.
As harmful as these chemicals are to people with respiratory diseases such as asthma, they are also harmful to cats and dogs. Careless use of fireworks can cause injury and fatal accidents to animals in the vicinity of the incident, as well as start fires that harm animals. It's common for us to talk about it when there are accidents like this that affect people, but we have to remember that such things usually affect other kinds of animals, even when people are not badly affected.
How Are Different Animals Affected By Fireworks?
Dogs
Humans can hear nothing exceeding 20,000 Hertz, while dogs can hear up to 60,000 Hertz, which is three times that. This auditory sensitivity of Dogs is also one of the reasons why the sounds of fireworks can be harmful to them. Because they can't escape the sound, they show a fairly high level of stress.
Like many other animals, dogs are affected by other events that produce loud sounds, such as storms. But when it comes to storms, there are sounds, as well as advance warning signs so that animals can detect sounds from the beginning. Although this can cause them to suffer in anticipation, it does not create unexpected fear, as fireworks do, which are sudden and unrecognizable. Fear of sounds is more common in older dogs.
A lot of dogs living in the city have negative symptoms due to the explosions of firecrackers. Common reactions include freezing or paralysis, uncontrollable attempts to escape and hide, and tremors. More severe symptoms can also be found, such as drooling, heart palpitations, intense noise, urination or defecation, increased activity, excessive vigilance, and diseases of the digestive system. All of these indicate a high level of discomfort.
He points out that the response of dogs to the sounds of fireworks is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder in humans. But this effect can be more harmful in dogs because they do not have the ability to provide a logical explanation for stress or a rapid cognitive response that allows them to respond to their fears. They are likely to feel a deeper and more intense kind of horror. This is in addition to voice phobia, which can be more common in some dogs due to personality differences. It is important to note that dogs are particularly susceptible to phobia formations in the first years of their lives. Exposing them to sounds like fireworks adds to future fear reactions they wouldn't have experienced otherwise. It is estimated that one in two dogs had a remarkable fear response to the fireworks.
Cats
The effect of fireworks on cats is not so obvious, but their reaction, such as hiding and trying to escape, is similar to that of dogs. But despite the fears they have, cats have a higher risk of poisoning. A large number of Cats close to the places where the firecrackers were thrown eat the firecracker itself or parts of it. In addition, they can be blinded or severely injured by the explosions of firecrackers.
Horses
Horses that are already on constant alert due to possible predators can easily feel threatened due to their extreme attention situations. Horses can also behave similar to cats and dogs, showing signs of fear with stress, running away and trying to escape. It is estimated that 79% of horses experience an anxiety disorder caused by firecrackers, and 26% suffer from it. Sometimes their reaction to fireworks is to jump over fences and try to escape to dangerous places where cars can be hit.
Birds
The sound of firecrackers can cause heart palpitations in birds and even cause them to die in fear. The high degrees of stress felt by birds can be indicated by temporarily or permanently leaving their places.
Creole ducks develop more slowly in places where air vehicles, such as airplanes, and have less body mass compared to those that grow in places without much noise. Affected by these sounds, snow geese spend less time eating during the day and try to cover this deficiency at night. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in the time of rest and sleep, thus gradually reducing survival rates.
Loss of direction and panic caused by fireworks can cause birds to crash into buildings or fly into the sea. Nesting at high densities, colony-forming bird species (e.g. silver gulls) are more prone to this risk during the explosion of firecrackers. Many birds that have escaped from their nests because of the sound cannot know how to return to their nests when the sound ends, and many cubs are left helpless.
Small vertebrates with invertebrates
The damage suffered by invertebrates and small vertebrates has been less researched than that of the animals mentioned above. If explosions happen near their habitat, it is thought that there is not much that these animals can do to avoid harm. Remember to note that fireworks are very large explosions for these animals. In other words, the damage they will receive will be greater than that of other animals.
What Can Be Used Instead Of Fireworks?
Products that can replace fireworks are becoming more and more accepted: like laser light shows! There is a notable example in the city of Collecchio in Italy: one of the first cities to program silent fireworks with the message that fireworks can also be tasted without causing panic in the non-human animals of that region. But there is a possibility that such a show can have a negative impact on birds.
Some may think that giving animals sedative drugs is the solution, but this proposal is unsatisfactory for two reasons: first, using drugs to calm animals can have harmful side effects. Second, we can't get to all the animals affected by the fireworks. Animals that are harmed are not just those that live with humans. Even if we think only of pets living in the city, there are also animals living on the street or alone. Moreover, domesticated animals are a small fraction of those affected. We have to take into account all the animals that people can't reach, whether in nature or in the city, or even in other places where they are exploited by farms. Therefore, the only satisfactory solution would be to abandon the use of fireworks, which is not of vital importance to us.