Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
#1
Some time ago Vic Scratch'em and his merry band of followers had a balloon race day at Pencester Gdns.I spoke up against then and the damage it can do to wildlife and the enviroment.Here is a latest press release which may make them think again before having another such event,
Mass balloon releases can be lethal to animals and should be banned, a marine conservation charity said.
Balloon releases have long been popular with charities or to remember people who have died or gone missing.
But the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says dolphins, whales, seabirds and turtles have died from balloons and wants a national ban on such mass releases.
It says the number of balloons found on UK beaches has more than tripled in the last 12 years, from 3.4 balloons per kilometre to 11.5 balloons per kilometre.
Launching its Don't Let Go campaign, MCA spokesman Gill Bell said: "Marine wildlife is suffering from a range of threats and most people do not give a thought to what happens to their balloons after they are released.
"MCS has evidence of the potentially lethal effects of balloons on animals. Marine animals suffer from a range of threats - please don't let your balloon release be the cause of any more deaths.
"A balloon release is not a cause for celebration, but a possible death sentence for an animal.
"While most balloons used in releases are made of latex rubber, which will eventually biodegrade, many animals may eat the balloons, or become entangled in a balloon's ribbon."
The MCA says mass balloon releases have already been banned by authorities around the world, including some UK bodies.
It gives examples such as a juvenile green turtle washed up at Knott End-on-Sea beach near Blackpool in December 2001, which starved to death after a balloon blocked its gut
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
#2
Marek I am 100% with you on this..the pendulum is swinging away from doing this kind of thing so the Town Council got it wrong, although they probably werent aware..as the momentum is only gathering pace now. But only yesterday a turtle was found dead after choking on a similar balloon.
There have been a number of recent discoveries in similar vein. So those days of balloon launches are numbered.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
#3
i raised the subject on here at the time, but i think that people felt i was being a killjoy.
i remember the daily mail publishing a massive spread on this subject with gruesome pictures.
quite right too.
there was a sea mammal that had died of starvation, no food in his stomach, because he had swallowed a balloon
and it had inflated with his breathing leaving no room for food to get in.
you would not wish a death like that on noel edmonds, would you?.
#4
thank you marek - I share your opinion - never did think they were right.
D
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
#5
I remember this too.
When the Green Footprint Group at Dover Grammar School for Boys were publicising their go green campaign to encourage people to stop using the plastic carrier bag, I did some research on the internet and came up with some horrifc stories and pictures of wildlife dying from balloons and plastic carrier bags.
The Green Footprint Group won the competition for Dover - at the Ark at the end of May, I understand the next round is at the end of June - good luck to them; a good example of a Young Enterprise Company.
We should all take a more responsible view of this.
Roger
