STATEMENT
For Festivities and Celebrations Without Pyrotechnics

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UPF-CAE / Barcelona, June 2025

From the UPF-Centre for Animal Ethics, we wish to express our astonishment at the fact that it is the public authorities themselves who intend to continue allocating public funds to completely unnecessary and highly harmful pyrotechnic practices.

Numerous studies and environmental and animal protection organizations have warned of the serious physical and psychological effects caused by fireworks and firecrackers on all animals. Focusing only on the impact of noise and light flashes on domestic animals, veterinarians report tachycardia, tremors, disorientation, nausea, panic, and even death from cardiac arrest. To this we must add the impact on non-domestic animals, who are suddenly startled by these explosions, with no way to anticipate or understand their origin. Indirect harm must also be considered, caused by the dispersal of pyrotechnic waste and their chemical components into the soil and the sea. It is deeply irresponsible to cause this kind of harm, especially when scientific data shows that, in the analyzed cases, the effects are clearly harmful or very harmful—sometimes even causing death.

Most mammals and birds have extremely sensitive hearing systems, which they rely on to detect threats, flee, and survive. When exposed to sudden loud noises—often during their rest hours—they experience panic and confusion. This leads to desperate attempts to flee, falls, nest abandonment (with eggs), rapid scattering of family groups with loss of young, self-injury, or disappearance. This is confirmed by reports from organizations with veterinary expertise (AVATMA, 2017; Humane World for Animals, 2025; NZVA, 2019; RSPCA, 2019) and academic research (Bateman et al., 2023; Coulter, 2023; Hoekstra et al., 2024; NIOO-KNAW, 2022; Saporio et al., 2025).

Many animals remain affected for days after exposure, since high-intensity, unexpected, and uncontrollable auditory stimuli generate fear and anxiety responses comparable to post-traumatic stress in humans.

These practices are carried out without real justification and, in many cases, with public funds, despite also being harmful to many vulnerable humans who suffer from heart or anxiety disorders.

More and more citizens perceive these forms of celebration as primitive and inconsiderate and are calling for more respectful alternatives. Today’s technologies make it possible to offer environmentally friendly festive spectacles, such as laser or drone shows, which can be equally or even more enjoyable for everyone.

For all these reasons, we make an urgent appeal to authorities, institutions, and the general public to reconsider the use of pyrotechnics in public events and festive celebrations. We call for a shift toward festive alternatives that respect all living beings in the environment—both human and non-human—and to end these harmful practices, or at the very least, to opt for silent fireworks and drastically reduce the frequency and intensity of loud explosions.

References

• AVATMA. 2017.”Informe técnico veterinario sobre los efectos de la pirotecnia en animales”. Madrid: Asociación de Veterinarios Abolicionistas de la Tauromaquia y del Maltrato Animal. https://avatma.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/informe-pirotecnia.pdf
• Bateman, Philip W., Laren N. Gilson and Penelope Bradshaw. 2023. “Not Just a Flash in the Pan: Short and Long Term Impacts of Fireworks on the Environment”. Pacific Conservation Biology 29(5), 396-401. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC22040 
• Coulter, Kendra. 2023. “The Devastating Effects of Fireworks on Pets and Wildlife.” The MIT Press Reader, July 3. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-devastating-effects-of-fireworks-on-pets-and-wildlife/.
• Hoekstra, Bart, Willem Bouten, Adriaan Dokter, Hans van Gasteren, Chris van Turnhout, Bart Kranstauber, Emiel van Loon, Hidde Leijnse and Judy Shamoun-Baranes. 2024. “Fireworks Disturbance Across Bird Communities”. Frontiers in the Ecology and the Environment, 22: e2694. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2694
• Humane World for Animals. 2025. “Fireworks: An Explosion of Fear for Animals.” Washington: Humane World for Animals. https://www.humaneworld.org/en/resources/fireworks-explosion-fear-animals 
• NZVA. 2019. “Position Statement: Fireworks sale and use”. Wellington: New Zealand Veterinary Association https://nzva.org.nz/positions-advocacy/position-statements/fireworks/ 
• NIOO-KNAW. 2022. “Fireworks Have Long-Lasting Effects on Wild Birds.” NIOO News, November 25. Wageningen: Netherlands Institute of Ecology https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/news/fireworks-have-long-lasting-effects-on-wild-birds 
• Saporito, Antonio F., Terry Gordon, Beck Kim et al. 2025. “Skyrocketing pollution: assessing the environmental fate of July 4th fireworks in New York City”. Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology 35, 214–222. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00701-x 
• RSPCA. 2019. “Fireworks and animal welfare”. London: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f92de15d3bf7f35f06ae3b4/fireworks-evidence-submission-rspca.pdf