Fireworks Launched Next To Animal Hospital Full Of Terrified Pets

Every November, the UK celebrates Bonfire Night, and they often do it with fireworks. However, many pet owners know that fireworks and animals are never a good mix. Our poor pets are often terrified of the loud bangs and it causes them serious distress.

That is why it’s absolutely unthinkable that a group of youths would use fireworks to launch an attack on an animal hospital that was full of petrified dogs and cats.

The recent footage emerged from Finsbury Park in north London. In the video, you can see a group of youths setting out to attack a police car.

Sadly, the RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital ended up taking the brunt of the assault, including the terrified animals inside. As one woman in the video can be heard saying, the entire scene played out “like a war zone.”

Watch it below:

The RSPCA Harmsworth Animal Hospital staff had to act quickly in order to get the frightened animals to a different part of the hospital as the fireworks raged outside. According to UNILAD, an RSPCA spokesperson released a statement saying that the staff were continuing to care for the animals even during the lockdown, something that they should “be able to do this without fear for themselves or the animals.” The statement from the spokesperson even shared that some of the staff members had reported seeing sparks quite close to the tree branches near the hospital. The actions of those setting off the fireworks so close to the animal hospital were called out for being “unacceptable anti-social and dangerous behavior.”

As it transpires, such firework attacks can be punished by a hefty £5,000 or six months in jail. The current COVID-19 pandemic has also stirred up concerns regarding fireworks, since social distancing measures would put a halt on professionally organized displays, resulting in small, less organized firework displays which can actually be more dangerous.

Because of this, the RSPCA has stated that they are worried about seeing an increase in small firework displays over the coming weeks – something that just poses a major source of stress for animals. As UNILAD shared, their statement read, “Fireworks are extremely stressful and frightening for lots of animals. But they can also cause very serious injury and even death to some.”

This is the effect fireworks can have on a dogpic.twitter.com/BoZsfMjcUF

— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) November 5, 2020

The RSPCA has shared stats that show about 62% of dogs exhibit the tell-tale signs of stress during fireworks, as for other animals it’s about 54% distress in cats and 55% in horses. In fact, since 2010, the British Horse Society has also reported 20 horse deaths that were related to fireworks, as well as 10 severe injuries and 88 mild-to-moderate injuries.

Because of all the unnecessary stress and potential harm that fireworks cause animals, the RSPCA has decided to do something about it. Given that they’ve received more than 1,500 calls over the last four years regarding animals and fireworks, the charity has launched their #BangOutOfOrder campaign, which is calling for tighter regulations on fireworks across the UK. And that is definitely something that would be so good to see.