Acharya Tulsiji (Photo courtesy: Arvind Vora)
Diwali – also known as the festival of lights – commemorates light conquering darkness, good conquering evil, and the spirit of new beginnings. Whether you’re celebrating Lord Rama’s return to his kingdom of Ayodhya, the release of Guru Hargobind Ji from imprisonment, or the final liberation of Mahavira, there are a lot of reasons to rejoice! How we celebrate, however, is important.
Whether for Diwali, the 4th of July, or any other raucous celebration, for animals, fireworks are terrifying—and could be fatal. Many dogs and cats flee in fear from their deafening blasts, sometimes hopping fences or breaking through windows. Deer run into roads, and mother birds suffer heart attacks, leaving their babies to fend for themselves. As a result, animal shelters – as well as wildlife rehabilitation hospitals – see a spike in the number of admissions after fireworks displays.
As Amarabati Bhattacharyya wrote in India’s National Herald:
It is a well-known fact that animals suffer tremendously during Diwali when people indulge in bursting crackers. They are averse to loud noises and extreme levels of polluted air. What humans think of as fun, despite the firecrackers’ long-term effects on the environment, leaves animals traumatized.
By promoting fireworks displays in the face of how harmful we know they are to animals – as well as veterans and people with special needs – we teach children all the wrong lessons about humane treatment of vulnerable populations and turn them away from the light instead of toward it. One of the more extreme cases I dealt with involved young men celebrating Independence Day in the United States by duct-taping fireworks to a Canada goose’s chest on Long Island. Thankfully, my organization, Humane Long Island, was able to save him, and he was released back to the wild; however, many victims of fireworks are not so lucky.
Delhi recently banned firecrackers, and in some places, silent and beautiful drone light shows have replaced loud and dangerous fireworks.
For this year’s Diwali – and this week’s Anuvrat – I invite you to illuminate the darkness, not by lighting fireworks but by speaking out against them, and teaching our children to fly drones, light candles, and light diyas, instead.
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John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Photo courtesy: John Di Leornardo)
