With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, it’s important to keep our animal companions safe in this time of merry-making.
Animal welfare group Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and the EcoWaste Coalition have urged New Year revelers to shun firecrackers and fireworks as these are not only harmful to humans but to pets like cats and dogs who have a highly-developed sense of hearing.
Anna Cabrera, the executive director of PAWS said, “The loud bangs, booms, crackling noises, and whistles from firecrackers and fireworks are distressing for cats and dogs who are gifted with highly sensitive hearing.”
Most sensitive to the loud noises made during New Year’s are homeless aspins and puspins who have no safe space to go. Anna touched on animal cruelty which is punishable by law: “[They] are more traumatized when firecrackers are thrown at them by uncaring individuals who derive pleasure in seeing them run away in fear.”
Thony Dizon, the chemical safety campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition, warned that the air pollution from the ignition of firecrackers and fireworks can cause disorientation, appetite loss, and upset stomach in pets. Meanwhile, the ingestion of firecrackers and fireworks and their fragments and residue can cause chemical poisoning in cats and dogs.
Some safety tips to keep in mind include giving your furbabies plenty of exercise before the revelry begins, putting a calming wrap or anxiety vest, and playing soothing music.
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