Green Rocks Rescue Inc

To you, it’s fun. To the wildlife in your neighborhood, it’s catastrophic. Rabbits die of heart attacks from the sounds of fireworks. Birds become disoriented and fly into windows. Nursing mammals panic and abandon their young.

This time of year is dreaded not just by wildlife rehabilitators but also veterinarians’ offices, livestock farms, and domestic animal shelters due to the massive increase in injuries and runaways caused by fireworks. Fireworks also cause human injuries and wildfires and can be upsetting to veterans with PTSD.

If fireworks are important to you, please attend a public, professional fireworks show. Although these events still have an impact on wildlife, they at least keep the disaster contained to one area, while private fireworks create more widespread problems.