“Are sky lanterns and helium balloons really a problem?”
We talk to lots of people about our campaign to ground sky lanterns and helium balloons in Scotland, but we are often met with the question: “are they really that much of a problem?” Here’s what we say.
Why a ban?
The primary risk to animal life posed by sky lanterns and helium balloons is through ingestion:
The frame of a lantern, wire or bamboo, is likely to perforate or puncture a vital organ, the oesophagus or stomach, causing internal bleeding or organ failure.
If the object becomes lodged in the throat, it can cause death by asphyxiation.
The fuel source of some sky lanterns is a methylated gel, which can be lethal on its own, if eaten.
There is also the risk of entanglement:
Animals can become entangled in lantern wiring or balloon ribbon. The frame of a sky lantern can act as an unintentional snare, leaving any caught animal open to predation or starvation.
Birds have been known to become tied up in balloon ribbon mid-air, throwing off their flight and causing them to fall from the sky.
Of course, releasing a naked flame into the sky runs the major risk of it starting a fire on whatever land or habitat it lands on - endangering not only animals, but countryside, crops, property and people.
What goes up must come down. But in the case of these objects, it is impossible to control where or when depending on their fuel source and wind strength/direction. We cannot protect from a lit sky lantern landing in a places at particular risk to fire such as a zoo or nature reserve (or site with highly flammable material like a petrol station).
Who agrees with us?
Organisations like Animal Concern and the SSPCA, along with most animal welfare charities, want to see an end to the mass release of sky lanterns and helium balloons. However, the coalition of organisations who share this view is far broader than the animal welfare sector. Groups as diverse as the National Farmers Union and National Farmers Union Scotland, the Fire and Rescue Service, the Civil Aviation Authority, Keep Scotland Beautiful, the RSPB, the Marine Conservation Society and a majority of Scottish local authorities have all made comprehensive statements calling for restrictions on the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons.
We also have cross-party endorsement from MSPs on this issue, with verbal support from members such as Ariane Burgess (Scottish Greens), Beatrice Wishart (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Colin Smyth (Scottish Labour), Christine Grahame (SNP) and Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservatives and Unionists).
What harm have they ever caused?
Below is a series of news articles covering examples of the damage that sky lanterns and helium balloons have caused:
Burning of 100,000 tonnes of plastic material at recycling plant in West Midlands
Fire to a tank containing 2.66 million litres of gasoline in Korea
