‘Protect animals from New Year noise, fumes’

MANILA, Philippines — As the New Year revelry approaches, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and EcoWaste Coalition are appealing to the public to ditch firecrackers and fireworks and to ensure that cats, dogs and other pets are protected from the noise, which causes the animals trauma.

In a joint press statement, the two groups warned that firecrackers and fireworks can trigger intense anxiety, discomfort and physical harm to animals, especially dogs and cats, while contaminating the environment.

“The deafening explosions caused by firecrackers during the New Year’s Eve revelry can be a terrifying experience for our companion animals and even more so for the homeless animals on the streets,” PAWS executive director Anna Cabrera said.

“Since cats and dogs can hear better than humans, the sound of firecrackers and fireworks can cause them severe stress,” Cabrera added.

The groups also urged pet lovers not to leave their dogs, cats and other animals in cages outside their houses, saying leaving them in the open puts them “in the worst possible place on New Year’s Eve” as they will feel the “full impact of ear-splitting explosions and inhale all the fumes.”

EcoWaste also discouraged Filipinos from using firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices to usher in 2025.

“In lieu of firecrackers and fireworks, we appeal to citizens from all walks of life to safely welcome the New Year in a jolly manner using alternative noisemakers that will not put the health of our furry friends and the environment as a whole at risk,” said Aileen Lucero, EcoWaste national coordinator.

Environmental health specialist Geminn Louis Apostol of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health said “firecrackers and fireworks release a cocktail of hazardous pollutants that can aggravate air quality to very unhealthy levels and cause health problems, especially for the most susceptible sectors such as children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.”