Group Warns Against Leaving Animals Outside
For Immediate Release:
December 28, 2012
Manila — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia is offering important advice for ensuring the safety of animals during New Year's Eve celebrations. To dogs, cats, and other animals, firecrackers must seem more like World War III than a celebration. Many animals go missing because they panic and jump over fences or break chains—animals have even jumped through plate-glass windows in order to get away from the terrifying sounds. Some animals are reunited with their families, but others are never found or are hit by cars or killed in other ways as they flee.
"Firecrackers are a nightmare for both domestic and wild animals," says PETA's Rochelle Regodon. "While PETA supports a total ban on fireworks, it's important to ensure that dogs and cats are safe during celebrations in the meantime."
Here are precautions to take to help keep your companion animals safe this New Year's Eve:
Fireworks displays are also disastrous for wildlife. Besides being frightening, fireworks produce plumes of smoke that are harmful to animals' respiratory systems and pollute standing water. The California Coastal Commission in the U.S. banned the city of Gualala's fireworks display after a 2006 show caused nesting seabirds to flee their nests and abandon their chicks. And in 2011, fireworks were blamed for the deaths of approximately 5,000 birds in the state of Arkansas.
For more information, please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.