Town In Italy Switches To Silent Fireworks To Reduce Anxiety In Animals

There are plenty of us that enjoy a good firework display,
especially in summertime around the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, for our
pets, the noisy displays in the sky don’t hold the same joy for them as they do
for us.

Our furry friends don’t have the same understanding of what
is going on, and easily get spooked by the loud bangs and flashing lights in
the sky. It’s scary for them – mostly because they have much more sensitive
ears than us. Can you only imagine what they must be hearing?

In fact, there have been statistics to back up the
significant correlation between firework shows and a spike in vet visits the
following day. The prime example of this is July 5th, which happens to be one
of the busiest days for vets across the United States. This is because the 4th
is spent in the tradition of setting off tons and tons of fireworks.

For many household pets like cats and dogs, this is the time
that they are most likely to end up running away and getting lost in the
mayhem, or worse, getting struck by a car. Chickens have also been known to lay
fewer eggs during this time. Also, there has been many birds that end up
panicking and in their attempts to fly away, end up dying of fright or flying
into buildings and hitting the ground.

Besides the most obvious and immediate effects, there are
other more long-term medical effects that can affect pets as well as wildlife.
For example, sudden and loud bangs have been proved to increase stress levels
in puppies, which can result in chronic panic attacks, nausea, and even
cardiovascular issues later on in life.

While all this sounds terrible, there is one Italian city
that has found a solution to ease the terror of pets, while still allowing
people the chance to enjoy colorful firework displays.

The Italian city of Collecchio, located in the province of
Parma, has been the first to pioneer a new initiative that requires people to
use silent fireworks only. The are hoping that their bold stance on the matter
will inspire other cities, both nationally and internationally, to follow their
lead. Collecchio’s law clearly states that all those who reside in the town
must use silent fireworks in order to respect the animals and spare them unnecessary
stress.

Silent fireworks are a great alternative since they still
will deliver all the beautifully bright displays that everybody enjoys, but
there is none of the banging and racket that usually accompanies the fireworks.
An Italian company is specializing in the making of the silent fireworks and
can even customize the colors and effects at the customer’s choosing. The local
government of Collecchio has also declared the use of regular fireworks to be
punishable by law.

If you’re worried about the silent fireworks not being as
much of a spectacle as the traditional ones, there’s no need to be. Silent
fireworks are actually accompanied by even stronger visual effects, as well as
laser shows, which makes them that much more colorful.

Regular firework displays are known as “stars” in the
industry, and they tend to be so strong that they lose a bit of their colorful
effects. Silent fireworks on the other hand, don’t lose their vibrancy. Instead,
they leave a colorful “comet trail” in lieu of the loud bang. Pretty cool,
right?

Recently, Middelkerke, a city on the coast of Belgium, was
inspired by Collecchio, and they organized their own “animal-friendly” firework
show. The local government encouraged pet owners to come enjoy the display with
their little furry friends. It was great because for once, both humans and
animals were able to enjoy the show together.

We can only hope that more cities around the world take
note. Would you like to see more places adopt pet-friendly fireworks?