Time to regulate those scratch bombs, fireworks

The explosions frighten and terrify people and animals. At schools, even daily checks at the gate will not eradicate the frequent possession and discharge of this menace which disrupts classes, frighten, injure and cause vast commotion and results in lost contact time. And then good man hours are wasted by deans and safety officers who have to investigate these cases of who brought, who possessed, who discharged, who sold etc and the numerous suspensions that ensue.

Some students deliberately aim and succeed at disrupting classes every day during this season. Guilty students think their actions are pranks but there is nothing funny in potentially dangerous devices.

Animals are terrified, disoriented, lost or killed as they flee from the loud noises. And this silly season has been going on for years. Even the quiet reverie once attached to All Saints Day and All Souls Day in cemeteries is disrupted by the constant explosions.

Why must those of us who loathe these devices endure this insufferable, unregulated, senseless activity from October to January every year and in August for independence? Many fireworks stalls that proliferate everywhere as Christmas nears do not display warnings that the law states these devices must only be discharged in open places etc — and maybe that’s because the police do not respond to complaints about the noisy discharge of these things in areas where people live.

Some people in residential areas discharge these devices from their porches. My neighbour’s house nearly burned to the ground as a discharged device landed on her window sill and ignited her curtains And there is also no regulation on the times these things can be discharged.

I am up at 3.30 am because my dogs are distressed and because there are still the sounds of war coming from outside and a sickening smell of gun powder in the air.

Divali, Christmas and New Year’s used to be beautiful times of celebration but now for the noise associated with these festivals, they cannot be truly enjoyed. It is not written anywhere in the scriptures that incendiary devices must be used to celebrate these events.

While an entire ban may be draconian, regulations need to be enforced for their sale, especially to those under 18, for the responsible discharge, and the price taxed so that they are not so easily available even for a poor schoolchild to waste his money.

Hours of discharge need to be implemented, so that others do not have to suffer for whole nights and for months.

For some of us, especially pet owners, are unable to go out because the pets are so distressed.

Like many possessions, once there is no regulation or law, people will act irresponsibly and abusively. Again I say that we deserve to live in a civil society, where distress and suffering for all forms of life is minimised and penalised by law.

Groups of citizens and pets should not be made to endure insufferable situations, ones that make us lose productive hours and good sleep hours because of the folly of others. We are not enduring this for any good reason.

The importers/proprietors of these things do not even think to issue warnings or considerations for responsible use.

This is just wanton materialism. Please update the law on the sale and discharge of incendiary devices, get the police to respond to complaints, and actually charge offenders because more severe regulations and stiffer penalties for irresponsible use can bring this mob behaviour under control.

KATHRYN CLEGHORN president, Animals Alive