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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rose Fletcher" data-source="post: 1329381" data-attributes="member: 43699">On the serious side, however, a few years ago somebody gave my son a single cracker, and after we got home, I allowed him to let it off.We lived well away from the nearest town, and in our front yard was an enormous Norwegian spruce.  The single bang brought the following flying from the tree in panic, and off into the night: at least 3 Australian Magpies; a family of nine Crested Pigeons; a pair of Rosellas; an English Blackbird; and a number of small birds whose frightened calls I didn't recognise.  It also caused  distress to the resident Brush-tail Possum.Every new year when fireworks are set off in the town near my present home, a large flock of Little Corellas goes wheeling and screaming away into the darkness, and the Gulls and Terns all depart for quieter places.  How the Corella flock manages to land again in the darkness, I don't know.New year 2005 began for me with the loss of my beloved Border Collie, Tommy, when a neighbour's illegal fireworks caused him to flee into the night, straight into the path of a speeding car.I would definitely take issue with anybody who chooses to claim that animals and birds are not too bothered by fireworks.  Here in Australia, the use of fireworks has been strictly regulated, due to the bushfire danger we face in this country, and the fact that every year, emergency services were called out to accidental fires resulting from fireworks.  Along with the toll of children rushed to burns units, as a result of the extra numbers of idiots playing with fire, these concerns have resulted in fireworks being banned unless you have a permit. Exactly why do we need fireworks, when we know that they cause problems?  Why do some people feel the need to fling the term 'killjoy' at anybody who speaks up against fireworks?</blockquote>

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