Despite an outcry from the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), South Africa’s first National Fireworks Competition is set to go ahead, NSPCA spokesperson Christine Kuch said on Thursday.
”It makes me sick to the teeth,” Kuch said.
She said the organisers are ”adamant” that they will go ahead with the event — ”despite ponies and camels being present on the grounds at the time the fireworks are due to go off”.
”I am no expert on camels, but I know the dogs in the area have very sensitive hearing and all animals can feel vibrations from a long way away.”
The competition is scheduled for the first weekend in October in Boksburg.
Kuch said that while the NSPCA prefers organised displays of fireworks to the random use of fireworks by individuals, it now appears that events involving fireworks are taking place frequently in residential areas ”and for what we would openly call trivial or frivolous reasons”.
Rob Delport of the Benoni SPCA said that during a night of fireworks festivity such as those experienced over New Year or November 5’s Guy Fawkes, on average 40 dogs are picked up after they escaped from their homes during the noise.
”And on average three dogs have serious injuries from crawling through windows and fences,” he said, noting that these are statistics for a small area.
”Can you imagine what it would be like in a big city?” Kuch said.
”I don’t want to keep drugging my animals,” she said, responding to advice that pets should be sedated when near fireworks.
Event organiser John Stewart said the size of the fireworks for the display has been limited to prevent excessive noise.
”It’s not going to be a big display but a technical one,” said Stewart.
He said there are only four competitors and each show will be between 15 and 18 minutes long.
”We have also alerted all the houses around us through the media and will be sending out flyers too,” he said.
He said the show will be the first of its kind in South Africa and is supported by the Pyrotechnics Guild of Southern Africa. — Sapa