12/09/24 Mocking the Firecracker Ban with Extremely Loud Air Bombs

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The beginning of December also marks the beginning of illegal use of pyrotechnics. In this regard, Animal Friends Croatia wrote a letter to the Minister of Interior Affairs Davor Božinović to point to the problem of illegal use of banned pyrotechnics and to emphasise the need to introduce additional surveillance over their sale and use. Moreover, the group sent letters to all primary and secondary schools asking them to share information on the dangers and the ban on use of pyrotechnics by children and young persons with schoolchildren and their parents.

Minors are not allowed to use pyrotechnics; firecrackers are under total ban!

Despite numerous warnings, there have already been reports of serious injuries suffered by minors handling pyrotechnics. In their letter sent to schools, Animal Friends Croatia reiterated that minors are not allowed to use pyrotechnics. The purchase and use of permitted category F2 and F3 pyrotechnics are permitted exclusively to persons over 18 years of age. The sale of pyrotechnics can start from December 15 in shops with special permits, and the use is permitted from December 27 until January 1. There is a total ban on firecrackers and bandoliers for everyone for the rest of the year!

High fines have been imposed – 130 to 390 euros for parents and carers of children using pyrotechnics, or 1,320 to 2,980 euros for legal entities and artisans who sell them to children under the age of fourteen. The fine for using pyrotechnics in closed spaces or spaces with large gatherings is between 660 and 1,990 euros.

The group note that parents should not allow children to use pyrotechnics as toys or for entertainment. They believe that even one lost child’s hand or one dead animal due to firecrackers or air bombs is one too many. Animal Friends Croatia therefore call on parents to be responsible, not to break the law nor buy any pyrotechnics for their children. Children and young people should be taught to care for animals and to celebrate in a more peaceful and dignified manner.

New pyrotechnics in the market as loud as the banned firecrackers

“Over the past few years, we have been receiving regular complaints by citizens during the month of December and the first few days of January over the use firecrackers and other banned pyrotechnics. They complained that pyrotechnic bombs are even louder than firecrackers which have been banned. We warned the Ministry of Interior Affairs that new pyrotechnic articles have appeared in the market – the so-called air bombs. Distributors claim that the noise those produce can compete with the strongest firecrackers in the amount of noise they produce. Thus, they are openly mocking the legal ban on firecrackers, trying to circumvent it by supplying similar goods whose main purpose is to create noise,” pointed out Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda, Project Coordinator at Animal Friends Croatia.

She stated that firecracker and bandoliers have been banned for a reason, and it is thus absurd that extremely loud pyrotechnics are allowed despite the fact that they cause fear among animals and humans, as well air-pollution: “The terrorizing noise of pyrotechnics is the cause of death of many dogs, cats, birds and other animals. For days, the sick and the elderly, parents with children with autism, persons with PTSD, heart patients and other vulnerable members of the public suffer the terror brought on by pyrotechnic use. The solution is to impose a total ban of air bombs and limit the use of other pyrotechnics to the 31st of December and the 1st of January, and the sale from the 27th of December.”

In their letter to the Ministry of Interior, Animal Friends Croatia appealed to Minister Božinović to secure additional police patrols throughout December and early January which would control the implementation of the Act on Explosive Matter and Weapon Production and Trade. Moreover, following reports on pyrotechnic shops breaking the ban on firecracker sales, the group believe it is important for the police to strengthen control over shops selling pyrotechnics. By strengthening control over the implementation of law, the police can provide humans and animals with safety and reduce the number of injuries caused by firecrackers.

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