The owner of Edinburgh zoo has linked the death of a baby red panda on Bonfire Night to fireworks and called for tighter regulations.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said vets blamed the death of three-month-old Roxie on 5 November on her reaction to fireworks in the area.
“Very sadly, she choked on her vomit on Bonfire Night and our vets believe this was probably a reaction to fireworks,” said Ben Supple, RZSS’s deputy chief executive.
“Roxie had access to her den but the frightening noises seem to have been too much for her. We are also concerned that fireworks cause stress to other animals in the zoo.”
Supple urged the Scottish and UK governments to tighten laws on fireworks, including supporting calls from welfare charities for a ban on their sale to the public as they “can cause fear and distress for pets, livestock and animals in zoos”.
This month, a petition with more than 1m signatures demanding increased restrictions was delivered to Downing Street. Backed by the RSPCA, signatories called for the restricted use of fireworks to traditional festivals and a reduction in the maximum decibel level.
According to UK law, fireworks are not to be used between 11pm and 7am, excluding on Bonfire Night, New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese new year, which have varying cutoff times. In Scotland, private fireworks can be used only between 6pm and 11pm.
Supple said: “We support calls from animal welfare charities to ban the sale of fireworks to the public, with only light displays being permitted at organised events.”
He said while firework exclusion zones were a positive step, there remained concern over the noise, even with a reduced decibel level. “The noise from fireworks can travel over large distances, meaning any exclusion zone around Edinburgh zoo would need to cover most of the city. Many of the animals in the zoo will also be disturbed by noises at lower frequencies even if the decibel level is reduced.”
The Scottish community safety minister, Siobhian Brown, called the fireworks’ distressing impact on animals “sad news” but said while she understood the calls for a ban, the issue was not within the Scottish government’s powers.
“Within our powers we have provided local authorities with powers to designate firework control zones, which ban the use of fireworks in local areas, and these were used for the first time this year in areas across Edinburgh over the Bonfire Night period,” she said.
Brown said she had written to the UK government for a meeting to discuss what more could be done.
A spokesperson for the UK Department for Business and Trade said: “We endeavour to keep pets and the public safe, and that’s why we launched a new fireworks safety campaign this season to help people use them safely and appropriately.”
