The noise produced by fireworks, bangers and firecrackers going off in the middle of the night causes enormous harm to the animals living in our cities and towns — harm that most people cannot even imagine.
Dogs and cats have far sharper hearing than humans. Our auditory window spans from the frequencies known as infrasound (below 16 hertz) to those known as ultrasound (above 15,000 hertz), whereas dogs can hear up to 60,000 hertz and cats up to 70,000. A dog is capable of hearing frequencies of more than 80,000 vibrations per second; its auditory sensitivity is so acute that bangers cause it genuine physical pain.
On New Year's Eve, vast numbers of dogs and cats flee their homes and gardens only to fall victim to cars that are invisible in the dark.
Not to mention birds that, disoriented and terrified, frequently collide with trees or buildings and risk injuring or killing themselves. Very often, moreover, they die of exposure, unable to find their way back to shelter.
Bangers are responsible every year for the deaths of thousands of animals through stress, fright, accidents and exposure — frequently with consequences for people too, as the following day's newspaper reports regularly attest.
Every year, more and more mayors seek to curb New Year's bangers by issuing specific ordinances banning this dangerous custom in favour of public safety and sending a clear signal of concern for the animal world.
A ban on bangers is a mark of civilisation. Every year, growing numbers of people report the distress suffered by their animals, which go wild at the sound of New Year's fireworks and risk suffering serious consequences as a result. Fireworks can indeed cause death, injury and trauma to both domestic and wild animals.
It is estimated that every year in Italy at least 5,000 animals die as a result of end-of-year bangers. Of these, around 80% are wild animals, above all birds — including, in some cases, birds of prey — which, frightened out of their wits, lose all sense of direction and instinctively take flight, risking collisions with obstacles in the terror and darkness. Others abandon their winter roosts (trees, hedges and rooftops), wander blindly in the dark and, finding no other shelter, die of cold as a result of the sudden energy expenditure they are forced to make in a season already marked by scarce food supplies that leave them with little in reserve.
New Year's Day is a celebration, but it should be one for everyone, animals included. That is why we ask people to limit this form of merrymaking to the quieter "fireworks", which are often the most beautiful too — "fountains", for example.
Read also: New Year's bangers, natural remedies for dogs and cats and anti-stress treatments
Animals that normally live outdoors should be temporarily kept in an enclosed, comfortable and reassuring space. If cats are used to using a cat flap, keep it shut and prepare a litter tray indoors (if there isn't one already). Make sure they don't slip out when you open the door, and when you take the dog for a walk, don't be tempted to unclip the lead. It is also advisable to keep the volume of the television, radio or other familiar household sounds turned up, to partly mask the noise of the bangers — especially if the animal will be left alone at home.
Read also: Oipa's practical ten-point guide against New Year's bangers