Many people like to celebrate holidays with fireworks, but it’s important to remember that a fun celebration for humans can be terrifying for animals.
You need to consider the pets and animals who live around you, because their reactions to the loud explosive sounds can send them into a panic: at best their owners will have to spend the night calming them down, and at worse it can be fatal.
Just in the wake of this week’s “Bonfire Night” in the UK, when it is custom to set of fireworks, we’ve already seen many stories of animals being injured or worse.
Now, there is another victim: a baby zebra who was scared to death of the fireworks show going on nearby.
The zebra lived at the Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Somerset, England. Born in March during the zoo’s pandemic-induced lockdown, she was named Hope, “to symbolize a ray of light and hope at a time which felt so bleak,” the zoo wrote.
Sadly, at only a few months old, Hope tragically died this week, after being frightened by a fireworks display nearby on November 4.
She was so scared that she ran off and collided with the boundary of her enclosure, and the impact caused her to die immediately.
“We’re feeling devastated by the loss of our young zebra Hope,” Larry Bush, the zoo’s managing director, said in a press release. “She was so full of energy and life and she was a very healthy young zebra.”
“It is such a tragedy that she has lost her life, seemingly as a result of fireworks being set off at nearby events which were intended as a celebration.
While it’s a tragic situation, the zoo hopes that Hope’s death will inspire positive change and get people to rethink their fireworks displays.
“As a zoo, we are determined that something good comes out of this and so we feel it is so important that people are aware of what has happened – we hope people will change their views about fireworks and become much more aware of the impact they can have on animals,” the zoo wrote.
“We would like to use this tragic event as an impetus for change and we really hope that people will now think hard and adopt alternative arrangements like silent fireworks or other more animal-friendly options for their bonfire night celebrations.”
Rest in peace, Hope. Gone far too soon. We hope your passing inspires real change.
Remember to be considerate of the animals in your community before setting off fireworks! Share this important reminder!
