Popular fireworks should be replaced with cleaner drone and laser light shows to avoid the \u201chighly damaging\u201d impact on wildlife, domestic pets and the broader environment, new Curtin-led research has found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new research, published in Pacific Conservation Biology<\/em>, examined the environmental toll of firework displays by reviewing the ecological effects of Diwali festivities in India, Fourth of July celebrations across the United States of America, and other events in New Zealand and parts of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples included fireworks in Spanish festivals impacting the breeding success of House Sparrows, July firework displays being implicated in the decline of Brandt\u2019s Cormorant colonies in California, and South American sea lions changing their behaviour during breeding season as a result of New Year\u2019s fireworks in Chile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lead author Associate Professor Bill Bateman, from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said fireworks remained globally popular despite the overwhelming evidence that they negatively impacted wildlife, domestic animals and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFireworks create short-term noise and light disturbances that cause distress in domestic animals that may be managed before or after a firework event, but the impacts to wildlife can be on a much larger scale,\u201d Associate Professor Bateman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe annual timing of some large-scale firework events coincides with the migratory or reproductive movements of wildlife, and may therefore have adverse long-term population effects on them. Fireworks also produce significant pulses of highly pollutant materials that also contribute significantly to the chemical pollution of soil, water, and air, which has implications for human as well as animal health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associate Professor Bateman said firework bans at sensitive periods for wildlife migration or mating periods could limit the impact, as well as drone or other light-based shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOther than horses, for which there is some evidence that they can be gradually familiarised with flashes of light, there is very little that can be done to address the disturbing impact of noise from fireworks on animals and wildlife,\u201d Associate Professor Bateman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe future of firework displays may be in the use of safer and greener alternatives such as drones, eco-friendly fireworks or visible-wavelength lasers for light shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is growing evidence that these community events can be managed in a sustainable way and it\u2019s clear that out-dated firework displays need to be replaced by cleaner options that are not harmful to wildlife and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n