PETITION TO THE NOVA SCOTIA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY:

Fireworks can cause terror, pain and even death to animals (both wildlife and pets).  Wildlife have become so disoriented they have been unable to find their way back to their young, leaving them vulnerable to predators or starvation. Even birds can be affected by fireworks, causing them to fly into buildings and other obstacles.

The shock of fireworks can cause animals to flee blindly, putting them in danger of sustaining a life-threatening fall, or running into traffic with the potential to cause serious or fatal injury to themselves, drivers and passengers.

Triggering such panic in livestock can also result in devastating financial loss due to veterinary bills, animal death and human inability to work because of injury sustained while trying to handle panicking animals. For example, the terrible loss sustained on New Year’s Eve by Dawn Golding and family could have easily resulted in life altering injury or human loss of life had someone been actively handling the horses when the fireworks went off.

Additionally, noise from fireworks can have a long lasting negative impact on people suffering from mental health disorders such as PTSD, as well as people with autism.

This form of “entertainment” negatively impacts humans in both rural and urban constituencies. Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the government of Nova Scotia to ban the sale and use of consumer fireworks in Nova Scotia.