do you think it is time to start a petition against Chinese lanterns ?

Yes, totally agree! We live in a thatched property and these Chinese lanterns are a serious worry. I may have imagined it, but I think there was talk of petition some while back - not sure - don't know how to check. Maybe I'll have a quick Google...!
 
There was a petition last year = didn't get enough signatures though despite it being well publicised.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/13051

The RSPCA has also started one http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/wildlife/chineselanterns

Seems that too many people think they are 'pretty'.

I recently had a ding dong with local country club over the road who let off the lanterns one evening after a wedding and 6 landed in my fields. I gathered them up (wet so dye was everywhere in the field and all over me) and drove over to dump them on their reception desk.

To be fair the manager was appalled by the state of them and their potential risk to livestock, dry fields and my hay so has now banned them from all future events.
 
just checked the number of people signed up to the orignal petition, only 5227 :( i clicked on and signed up, hate the things, have quite a few of them land in my field, and more worryingly see lots of them let off in the evenings, they rise up and are carried in the wind right in the direction of my yard/field, worry like hell, always end up driving up the yard and checking none have landed whilst still alight, and then check again in the daylight, caught my now 2 year old 'playing' with one once, horrified me :eek: have gone online and signed up for the RSPCA one, they need 20,000 signatures to get action on this, surely we can all try and help get them banned - if we dont sign up nothing will change

i know RSPCA arent always the best - but at least its something !
 
It is disgusting isn't it, people are so stupid for using them, and for what purpose? More of a fire hazard than fireworks IMO because they can drift aimlessly for some time.
 
Yes I definitely think they should be banned. One of my horses had a very nasty injury ad a result of them. The NFU have a very strong interest in them and are keeping a log of all incidents. I think I signed the petition last year but not sure if this is still active. Don't they have a limited life span?
 
Signed and shared the RSPCA one. We might not like the RSPCA all the time, but they're might can really mean something gets done about this, so let's support them in this fight.

I absolutely hate the things.
 
thanks to the BHS I've just 'reported' my encounter/s with these horrible things, thank you for the link, and i'm amazed at the speed an email was sent to acknowledge receipt :)

if we all report when we have issues with them then perhaps things might change, thankfully my 2 year old wasnt injured as i caught her before anything could, but i regularly get these horrible things in my field, and incidently see them down the lane too, i pick up any i find and bin them, just a pity they are still available for sale.

i've sent the link above for the RSPCA petition to as many people as i have in my inbox, if everyone did the same on here they perhaps they may get the 20k signatures they need - come on HHO's lets all get behind this and get them banned !!!!

PS, for those who signed up to the gov link one before, its now gone out of date, the current link for a petition is the RSPCA one :)
 
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Absolutely! They need banning full stop!! The property just next to ours, literally up a steep bank next to our pole and hay barns, is having a wedding in almost 3 weeks. We don't know these people, but they have a history of bon fires and fireworks. I'm terrified at the prospect of Chinese lanterns floating across our fields and landing anywhere near animals and barns. Ours is the last house in the village with our land, plus hundreds of acres of pasture and arable fields all around. We're having a word with them today...it would be so nice if we were able to say that all celebratory forms of fireworks were banned.
 
There was a report in the most recent issue of the NFU magazine that an equiry has been made into these and there won't be a ban.
 
The danger is not only fire but that they contain wire in them which when eaten by animals can seriously damage the animal. (They could get in to hay etc). If every horse owner in the country signed the petition their would be 4 million signatutes.
 
OWLIE185 said:
The danger is not only fire but that they contain wire in them which when eaten by animals can seriously damage the animal. (They could get in to hay etc). If every horse owner in the country signed the petition their would be 4 million signatutes.
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Thats a really good point Owlie, re the sigs
 
Not just horse owners, I have a large number of rabbits and have watched in horror as a chinese lantern 'gone wrong' fell down from some height in flames heading straight towards my rabbits! they are a bleedin horrid invention and just as much as throwing a can on the floor except you light it first...
 
Signed that, glad to see the RSPCA with their publicity machine getting behind this. I'm another fed up at all the fireworks for no real reason!! Someone locally had a display the other day, can't quite work out why!
 
djlynwood said:
Are there environmentally freindly ones available?
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Yeah there are now, so that helps with the worry about the wire, but not that it is an aimless floating ball of fire :-/

I went to a party in pretty much the most built up area possible and someone thought it would be a good idea, I tried to politely point out why it wasn't but in the end I just had to pray that the wind and rain would put them out (only about two were successful anyway ).

I think they should just not be for sale really, I don't like flying fireworks either personally (what's wrong with a good old roman fountain!) but at least if you have a decent space around then they don't stray too far.
 
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