A group of residents of the Catalan town of Figueres has created the Soroll off (Noise Off) initiative, a citizen-led campaign that was born thirty days before the festival of San Juan this year, which is celebrated on June 23 in many areas of Spain, and in which the use of fireworks is very common.
The reason for the campaign is that the promoters want to raise awareness about the social damage caused by the indiscriminate noise of fireworks in the collective of animals, children, sick people, the elderly or people with autism spectrum disorder, and at the same time favour a civic citizen coexistence.
The citizen platform offers information on the problems that accompany the use of firecrackers and fireworks, and on its website they also include material to disseminate the campaign on social networks (in Catalan, Spanish and English), to be placed on balconies or commercial establishments, and even t-shirts.
Veterinarians are well aware of the impact that the noise from fireworks can have on companion animals. An example is the letter that the official associations of veterinarians (COVIB) and Psychology (COPIB) of the Balearic Islands sent last Christmas —other dates in which the use of fireworks is common— to the Federation of Local Entities of the Islands Balearic Islands (FELIB).
In it, the Group of Specialists in Animal Behaviour Medicine of the College (ETOCOVIB) warned that, both in domestic and wild animals, the impact of these noises “is remarkable, generating health problems due to the fear and anxiety caused, which that directly affects their well-being”.
In this sense, Ramón García, president of COVIB, recalled that the day after celebrations with a lot of use of fireworks, it is common for police forces to find lost animals. “This is those who are lucky and are found. Others will not survive or will be left with long-term ethological sequelae”, he lamented.
Among their proposals to deal with these problems, in line with this citizen initiative, COVIB were committed to carrying out awareness campaigns “to reach citizens who do not always know this reality in the most didactic way possible.”
They also advocated the regulation of the hours and places where fireworks can be used and the control of the sales stalls; and promoting other possibilities, such as quieter fireworks or drone shows.
For more information on the initiative, and to download and disseminate the support material, you can visit the website, https://sorolloff.com/
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