'It's time to ban fireworks'

2006-01-03 19:48

Johannesburg - A Doberman died of suffocation when it became tightly wedged in burglar bars while trying to escape fireworks in Empangeni on New Year's morning.

The eight-year-old dog chewed its way through a wooden window frame and smashed the glass in its frantic attempts to get inside the house of its owners - who were holidaying in Durban, said Empangeni Society for the Prevention of for Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) spokesperson Cheryl Whittaker.

She was called to the scene, in Grantham Park, at 02:00 after being alerted by the fire brigade, which had been notified of the dog's plight by a security company.

"She (the Doberman) got her whole head, shoulders through, but her pelvic area got stuck in the bars as she tried to get through," Whittaker said.

Several victims

"She hung in the bars until she died. We had to cut the bars to release her while her mates, a pom and another Doberman watched us closely."

The homeowner later discovered that the dog had gnawed on a chair and a desk inside the room while it was dying.

The Doberman was just one of several four-legged victims of fireworks over the New Year, Whittaker said, urging the government to re-introduce anti-fireworks legislation.

"It's time to ban fireworks. Over Diwali one person lost 17 breeding parrots. They all just died from shock.

"One person I know has a German timber wolf. The dog managed to break through razor wire twice trying to escape the noise from fireworks.

"Animals get badly hurt trying to escape. They cut themselves on spiked fences and slice themselves on razor fencing.

"It affects wildlife, birds, people - everyone."

Whittaker said revellers even tossed fireworks at a patrolling SPCA vehicle on New Year's Eve.

"People were drunk and were throwing firecrackers into the street. At one point they hurled a rocket across the top of the vehicle.

Illegal sales

"This was long after midnight. People weren't celebrating New Year, they were simply having fun with firecrackers," she said.

At the moment, municipalities were allowed to make their own rules on fireworks.

In Johannesburg, residents face a R1 000 fine for letting off firecrackers where animals are present. They were allowed to discharge fireworks only between 19:00 and 22:00 on New Year's Eve.

However, according to National SPCA spokesperson Christine Kuch fireworks "sounding like bombs" were often set off outside these times.

Another problem was the illegal sale of fireworks.

"Some stores don't have permits to sell them or are not adhering to conditions of fireworks sale, while fireworks are also being sold informally on the streets," she said.

- SAPA