6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Hellboy' star Ron Perlman wants fireworks to stop in Niagara Falls
'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Hellboy' star Ron Perlman has a message for Niagara Falls: Knock it off with the fireworks.
In a
new YouTube video
released this week for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the actor chastised Niagara Falls Tourism (NFT) for its nightly fireworks shows over the falls during summer, saying they terrorize the local wildlife.
'Fireworks every night? Seriously?,' he said in the 30-second clip. 'Months of trauma for animals? Come on Niagara Falls, you can do better.'
NFT has been blasted by PETA in recent years for its nightly fireworks displays. Last summer the group sent NFT board members ear plugs to remind them that people can block out the sound of fireworks, but animals can't.
Earlier this year, PETA sent the board members and NFT president Janice Thomson a pair of drones and a laser light projector with the message, 'You can wow, without the pow.'
After a two-year pandemic hiatus, summer fireworks shows returned to Niagara Falls in 2022 and immediately angered several pet owners throughout the city, who said the nightly cascade of noise frightened and stressed out their animals.
The fireworks shows have
returned this year,
running 151 consecutive nights until Oct. 13.
'Imagine dogs, cats, birds, deer and other animals panicking every single night for months,' Perlman said in his video. 'The falls are already a wonder. You don't need gimmicks like fireworks to bring people in. Please do better.'
Last summer, NFT and the Niagara Parks Commission said they were considering drone shows as an additional feature, but stressed that tourists still love the fireworks shows every night.
Perlman is pushing for a complete shift to drone shows.
'Switch to drones,' he urged in the video. 'Give animals and everyone else a break.'
PETA says
more than 90,000 people
have joined its crusade against the Niagara Falls fireworks shows. Not only can the noise cause animals to flee yards and homes in panic, they say pollutants are left in the air and water.
When contacted Tuesday, Thomson said feedback shows fireworks are popular with visitors.
'Niagara Falls Tourism continues to receive a strong show of consumer interest in the fireworks programming, along with the custom light displays by the (Niagara Falls) Illumination Board,' she said. 'Displays that reflect and pay tribute to the beauty of nature.
'Laser shows are being considered to highlight this year's Winter Festival of Lights, responding to visitor interest in new and innovative programming.'
