Chinese floating lanterns endanger animals

This was just posted at the forums for my local newspaper (uk) ..

The following account was posted on another board by my friend who works for a vetinary practice in Somerset. Some of us are trying to get the word around as i feel this is important.

"If you are living in a rural area please think twice about setting these lanterns afloat from you wedding, party or whatever.

We have just had the 6th cow in our practice killed by a wire from one of these things. They float away and then land in a field, the lantern isn't spotted, the paper bit disintergrates but the wire parts are left behind,. The wire then gets chopped up in the harvester, baler or silage machine and then when the cows get fed the fodder they ingest the pieces of wire.

The wire travels from one of the stomachs up to the heart resulting in a painful, stressful and usually fatal outcome. Not a nice way to die. The Veterinary Labratory at Langford, Bristol are saying that they are finding more and more cases of these lantern wires causing deaths in cattle.

A large local country house hotel near here is about to receive a legal letter, as despite local farmers complaining about the amount of lanterns they release every weekend, they persist in doing it. We are trying to get together with the hotel and the lantern makers to see if some alternate, safer lantern can be made. One hates to be a killjoy, but animals are dying a painful death and farmers are losing good stock and money."

Source
Its seems that chinese lanterns are not only causing trouble for us UFO investigators.

[edit on 7-9-2009 by VitalOverdose]

I went to Thailand last year and these things littered the sea bed every where we went snorkeling. They were all over the coral reefs and sea floor so god knows what dammage they were doing there.

It's not just the cows these things dammage, they play havoc with forage harvesters metal detectors and do even more dammage if they get inside a forager.

Won't be long before they are banned in this country IMO.

MR

It seems these things are also a major fire risk.

In Germany there is pressure to ban them Nationwide, some districts have already following a fire caused by them. Link

There was a fire incident in Cornwall recently too. Link

Farmers are calling for Chinese lanterns to be banned because of the risk they pose to livestock.

They claim the wire-framed party toys - which are often mistaken for UFOs - could cause fires or be eaten by cattle.

Source

Coastguards have asked for advance warnings from people setting off Chinese lanterns following a spate of false alarms along the UK coastline.

The latest incident took place on Saturday night between Bexhill and Pevensey in East Sussex.

Dover Coastguard was called to a sighting reported as a "red flare", which is sent up by a boat in distress.

Source

A farmer from Bradford on Avon is appealing to the public not to use Chinese lanterns during summer parties as the wire inside can kill cattle.

Ian Moore, of Gapwood Farm, off Jones Hill in Bradford, found several lanterns in his field over the weekend of July 25 - two of which had been chewed by his cattle.

Mr Moore said: “There is very fine wire in them and it only takes about an inch of wire to kill them.

Source

FARMERS in Mid Devon are facing a new threat to their livelihood – Chinese flying lanterns.

Ian Johnson, South-West spokesman for the NFU, is warning partygoers of the risk the popular flaming party toys, which are often mistaken for UFOs, pose to fields and crops.

He says many farmers are becoming increasing worried about the lanterns which can be bought for £12.50 and fly for 20 minutes at up to a mile high in the sky.

Source

Used since the 13th century to symbolise hope and good luck, Chinese flying lanterns seem to be the latest 'must-have' at stylish parties, festivals and private celebrations.

For farmers, though, they are a cause for concern. The wire mount for the fuel cell has the potential to injure livestock if it contaminates pasture, cut silage or hay. Arable farmers fear a standing crop being ignited by a lantern returning to the ground

Source

Chinese lanterns which have been released into the air are damaging crops and farmland, farmers in north Wales have claimed.

The National Farmers' Union Cymru said members in Denbighshire and Flintshire had reported a rise in the number of lanterns landing on their property.

The lanterns, which you light in a similar way to a candle, have become popular at festivals and parties.

Both the flame and the wire frame posed hazards, the union said.

Source


[edit on 7-9-2009 by VitalOverdose]

In addition to the main topic of this thread it needs to say that the Chinese floating lanterns are not only something to use for custom purposes but they are increasly becoming something to use for joke becoming so a problem for ufologist in fact it is easy that they could be identified like UFO in the sigthings report, so it is possible that UFO casuistry could be distorted.

UFO Hoax Leads to Arrest of New Jersey Men

gothamist.com...

So we endure crop damage and dead cattle at the hands of the
UFO pilots discovering the effects of getting too close, Walton
got knocked unconscious perhaps by a landing light, and now
risk fire by hoaxers that wish to cover up lights floating by in the sky.

For some reason UFOs gave up on trying to be a 200mph civilian
plane and now go 20 mph giving off a glow.

Japan balloons were secret during WWII so why not UFOs and
the hoaxer operations to cover them with mind control.

We hear more of the excuse than the probable reason why.

They should definitely find new ways to construct them.

somehow I see them being classified as fireworks in the near future..