Sky Lanterns and Helium Balloons
Sky lanterns
These collections of latex, plastic, bamboo, paper, cardboard and metal wiring crash back down to earth, disturbing and damaging wildlife habitats. In the case of lanterns, the best we can hope for is that its flame has extinguished before landing. If it’s still lit, obviously this poses a major fire safety risk to landscape, animals and humans alike.
By any standard, the release of these man-made objects into the sky, in the knowledge that they will land somewhere unknown, can only be described as littering. Which is illegal on its own.
Lanterns, essentially mini hot air balloons, can fly up to 3,000ft and travel for up to 30 minutes on the wind before crashing back to the ground. We have no control over where that will be.
Examples:
In 2023, 20 vehicles were destroyed in Cornwall because of a fire caused by a sky lantern which landed, still lit, on one of them. This caused hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage.
In 2020, dozens of animals were killed at a zoo in Krefeld, Germany in a fire caused by a lit sky lantern landing in an enclosure at New Year.
In 2013, it took 200 firefighters 3 days to extinguish a fire caused at Smethwick Plastic Recycling Plant in England, which was caused by a lit sky lantern landing on its roof.
In 2013 again, in Washington, USA, a sky lantern caused a 500-acre wildfire, taking 100 firefighters to put out. And in South Carolina, a lantern landed on a dry bush, causing 800 acres of habitat to burn.
Animals can ingest the debris, causing damage to the throat, stomach and intestines leading to pain and death.
Birds and fish can become entangled in the balloon ribbon or trapped inside the lantern, stopping them from moving, resulting in death.
Balloons
Balloons can float on the air for days, and we have no control over where they go. What we do know is - they always land.
And once they do - not only is it littering, but they become a danger to any wildlife, farmed animals or companion animals that may happen to find them first.
If ingested, the balloon can do irreparable and often fatal damage to an animal’s oesophagus and digestive tract and can cause suffocation.
Examples:
A young calf suffocated on a deflated helium balloon which had landed in its enclosure on a farm in Kent in 2015 - see image above. The farm owners, the Burden family, have also said they have lost lambs in the same way.
A 5ft birthday balloon released in Belfast, Northern Ireland, travelled 50 miles across the sea to Glenluce, Scotland, onto farmland where it was picked up by a young calf. Luckily, the farmer noticed his animal choking in time to pull the balloon out. Not as lucky was a bullock found dead on a farm in County Durham, whose post mortem revealed a slow and painful death caused by blockage of the oesophagus by a helium balloon.
Our campaign
We are working towards ensuring nationwide support from Scottish local councils in favour of public restrictions on the release of sky lanterns and balloons on council-owned land and property.
Using this collective impetus, we will approach the Scottish Government to convince them that the local authorities are in favour of a national ban and have done all they can to eliminate these potential risks to animal wellbeing and the natural environment.
You can help us rid Scotland of these needless threats to both flora and fauna by lobbying your MSP and the government, by sharing our posts on social media and by donating towards our campaign costs, all of which you can find out more about at the link below: