Firework ban expanded in Edinburgh after death of red pandas at zoo
Zoo chiefs have welcomed the expansion of firework control zones in Edinburgh after the death of a baby red panda and its mother was linked to loud bangs around Bonfire Night last year.
The ban will cover nine Edinburgh neighbourhoods this year, after being trialled last year in a handful of areas of the Scottish capital.
Firework control zones (FCZ), which ban the use of fireworks in a specific area to mitigate the misuse of fireworks and the protection of animals and vulnerable people, were first implemented in Balerno, Calton Hill, Niddrie and Seafield.
On Thursday, members of the City of Edinburgh Council's Culture and Communities Committee voted to reintroduce FCZs in these areas for two years, in addition to new bans in Moredun, Gracemount, Longstone, Sighthill, and Corstorphine.
The bans will be in place between Halloween on October 31 and November 9.
The move has been welcomed by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which said two red pandas – a mother and baby – may have died from shock at Edinburgh Zoo during that period of 2024. The zoo is in the Corstorphine area.
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Baby red panda Roxie choked to death on her own vomit on November 5, aged three months, and her mother Ginger died five days earlier, which zoologists said could have been attributable to stress from fireworks.
Police also dealt with serious disorder in areas of the city including Niddrie, Gracemount and Moredun on Bonfire Night last year.
A public consultation found 'overwhelming support' for the introduction of the FCZs, according to the council.
Culture and communities convener Councillor Margaret Graham said: 'We want everyone to be able to enjoy Bonfire Night safely and responsibly and these FCZs are part of our efforts to ensure that.
'The new FCZs being introduced are based on community requests and respond to real concerns around the safety of people and animals in these areas. This is in addition to the FCZs first introduced last year, which we found had a really positive effect.
'This is just one tool for minimising the negative impact of fireworks at this time of year, and we'll continue to work closely with partners to look at different ways of addressing the issue.'
RZSS deputy chief executive Ben Supple said: 'We are very grateful to the council for creating a fireworks exclusion zone around Edinburgh Zoo.
'Roxie the baby red panda sadly choked to death on her sick last Bonfire Night and it is very likely that this was due to stress from fireworks.
'The loud bangs would have been incredibly frightening for her and fireworks may have also contributed to the death of her mum Ginger five days earlier.
'Firework exclusion zones are an important step to protect animals in zoos, pets, horses, livestock and wildlife.
'We are also supporting calls from animal welfare charities to ban the sale of fireworks to the public, with only drone or light displays used at organised events.'
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