The Chairman of the German Wildlife Foundation, Prof. Dr Klaus Hackländer, leaves no doubt that fireworks and firecrackers have serious consequences for wild animals.
Source: Facebook
The hibernation of hedgehogs and squirrels is massively disturbed, other wild animals are startled and try to escape the noise by fleeing far and wide. In the case of deer, this uses up valuable energy reserves that the animals need to save for their fawns’ first milk in May, among other things. For animals with a highly sensitive sense of hearing, such as foxes, the noise is also very stressful.
Every New Year’s Eve, countless birds lose their lives as they fly in panic into walls or glass windows in the dark. In the Alps, even chamois fall from rock faces when fireworks are set off in the mountains.
“A great tit loses around ten per cent of its body weight in just one normal night,” explains Prof. Hackländer. If the birds are repeatedly startled by firecrackers for days on end, they have less time to forage and may not be able to replenish their lost energy in time.
We advocate a quiet turn of the year – with sparklers instead of fireworks 🤍
