Fireworks
Pets Corner with Leonie St Clair | www.londondogstraining.co.uk
W
ith more lockdowns on the cards it is unlikely there will be many organised fireworks events this season, but back garden celebrations may increase as people look for opportunities to have a bit of fun. Every year warnings about the potential impact of fireworks on pets are sent out and although many heed that advice a significant number do not. The fact is, dogs hear over twice the frequencies and detect sounds four times further away than do us humans. A cat’s hearing is even more acute. As part of normal development animal and human brains have to learn recognise noises that are significant and to tune out from noises that are not. To react to every single noise would quickly lead to brain fatigue. This screening ability is not only essential for survival, it can also be a feature necessary for working animals that need learn to remain calm around loud noises. Police dogs and horses are one example. This ability to learn to ignore non-threatening noises is an essential process for all young animals to adapt and cope with their environment. The process of ‘habituation’ explains why many dogs, if exposed to fireworks noises in the right way, will learn to cope with the bangs. However, not all pets are so lucky. It seems some animals have greater difficulty screening out noises and become noise sensitive. The reasons for this are not clear and may be a result of nature, nurture or both. Yet both animals and humans can be afflicted. Fireworks can create untold misery for noise sensitive animals and their owners; in some cases the damage is catastrophic and permanent. Dogs can become so terrified they develop generalised noise sensitivity and anxiety, requiring lifelong psychoactive medication. It is not only dogs that are at risk, cats that are badly spooked may run in panic and become lost or injured. Zoo animals and wild animals are not immune and there are tales of captive animals being injured as they try to flee the unseen threat heralded by deafening, intermittent bangs. In 2011, after New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations in Arkansas USA, it was reported 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell out of the sky and died. It was alleged firework noises caused them
20 | SE22 - November 2020
to panic and fly blindly into buildings and trees. It’s not just animals, even humans can suffer. The pain threshold for loud noises in humans is around 120 decibels and in the UK fireworks should not be any louder than this, but can reach 150 decibels or more. The last point gets to the heart of the matter. It is instinctive in most animal species to startle at loud noises and run for cover. Firework noises are especially startling - for humans that startle response is all part of fireworks fun, a bit like the enjoyment we get watching horror films. But we humans have the luxury of foresight, knowledge and control; we know and understand what firework noise is and when the bang is coming, something an animal can never understand. There is of course a very simple solution. The advent of low noise fireworks means we humans can still get our firework fix in terms of the dazzling visual display but animals and pet owners will be spared months of misery and expense. The experts tell us that low noise fireworks are actually even more colourful than the louder variety and better for small scale displays. What’s not to like!
