December 1, 2023 – A total of 44 Croatian cities and municipalities have decided to enter the new year 2024 without fireworks, announces the association Prijatelji životinja (Friends of Animals). They agreed to do so following the appeals of associations who begged to protect animals and the environment from the negative consequences of fireworks.
As SiB writes, these cities and some municipalities have declared that they will not have fireworks in their own organization for the celebrations, and many of them will have eco-friendly and attractive lightshows instead.
The cities and municipalities involved are as follows: Labin, Rovinj, Čazma, Opatija, Samobor, Rijeka, Pula, Cres, Zabok, Novigrad, Duga Resa, Oroslavje, Varaždin, Osijek, Poreč, Zadar, Požega, Đurđevac, Zagreb, Vrbovec, Pregrada, Vinkovci, Virovitica. , Mali Lošinj, Crikvenica, Kaštela, Ivanec, Dubrovnik, Island. The municipalities that decided to take this step are the Municipality of Sukošan, Lovran, Gornja Stubica, Belica, Donji Vidovec, Voćin, Bol, Majur, Pitomača, Klana, Klenovnik, Bogdanovci, Bošnjaci, Tompojevci, Viljevo.
In addition, the retail chains Lidl and Tommy have decided out of consideration for people, animals, and the environment that they will not sell any pyrotechnics.
Furthermore, alongside giving up fireworks, several cities decided to replace the glitter in the sky with alternatives such as colorful confetti, laser shows, and other visual effects.
Pet owners know very well how much stress New Year’s madness with fireworks and firecrackers creates for their pets. Every year, hundreds of animals suffer injury or even death due to loud noise. Friends of animals have previously warned that the sound of fireworks and explosions can cause them to go into a state of shock and extreme stress, which affects the physical and mental health of the pet.
And certain groups of people such as people with PTSD and other difficulties and those sensitive to noise have a hard time dealing with fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Fireworks also harm the environment, contributing to air pollution as they release large levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
