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Firework displays and celebrations bring confusion, anxiety and fear into the lives of animals, causing many to run away from their homes in an effort to escape the frightening detonations.

Fireworks are not animal-friendly. Invariably, when communities celebrate with fireworks, local shelters and other animal aid organizations are overwhelmed by the "fallout," which manifests in an increased number of stray animals and reports of injuries and trauma to animals. Those animals who are reunited with their families must consider themselves fortunate. Many injured or terrorized animals run away from their homes to escape the traumatizing detonations of fireworks. Some are hit by cars and injured or killed, some are maimed for life, while others are never recovered alive.

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Dogs, cats, and other companion animals don't understand that the terrifying loud bangs are a celebration. One can only imagine what they think, given how much more sensitive their hearing is than ours. Humane societies across North America report that after firework displays they are swamped with calls about lost dogs and cats. Dogs are brought to shelters with paws bloody from running or torn skin from tearing through a backyard wooden fence or, worse, crippled from being hit by a car.

The need to protect both companion animals and nondomesticated animals from fireworks harm is exemplified in the numerous stories of animal suffering that we are left with after the smoke has cleared. For example, dogs have responded to firework explosions by breaking through windows and screens, often running miles away from their homes, only to end up exhausted, bloody and confused or dead on the road. A bull trying to escape his pen in response to a fireworks display died after becoming impaled. The city of Carrollton, Texas, decided to cancel its 1999 July Fourth fireworks celebration after a fireworks test indicated that the lights and sounds disturbed egrets at a nearby rookery. And guide dogs are sometimes left so terrorized by the explosions that they suffer severe emotional distress and are unable to assist their companions. Consequently, it is not surprising that firework events generate an increase in the number of stray animals, as well as an increase in reports of injuries and trauma to animals.

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