Kirklees Greens motion to ban Flying Lanterns passed

Green Party Councillors were celebrating today following their motion to ban Flying Lanterns being successfully passed at the September Kirklees Full Council meeting.

Green Party Cllr Robert Barraclough who proposed the motion said,

"I am very pleased the motion has been passed. We need to make more people aware of the dangers associated with these lanterns to horses, cows and other animals. Kirklees now needs to take a lead and get the message out to other landowners across the district"

Robert Barraclough's said

 Evidence has shown that the frames of lanterns can harm or even kill farm animals if they are ingested But it’s not just farm animals which can be affected. Sky lanterns can cause fires to crops, grassland on moors and bales of hay and straw that have been stacked, which can lead to a loss of buildings. 

Cows on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Stirley Farm, near Newsome, have had to be destroyed due to metal from flying lanterns contaminating their feed. Lanterns are known to have been set off from Castle Hill and have been chopped up into small pieces when grass in farm fields is mowed for animal feed. Once in bales these small pieces of metal are almost impossible to detect but do terrible damage and pain to animals as the metal tears through their internal organs.

 Many people simply do not understand that these lanterns are dangerous and damaging and this motion is aimed at raising peoples’ awareness of the dangers of setting off these lanterns and the consequences it has for cows and sheep on local farms.

This is a problem which not only affects livestock farmers but also the thriving Equestrian population in our area as horses also are fed on fodder which can be contaminated with the lanterns.

 This is not just about animal welfare and raising awareness to the public about the dangers posed by these lanterns it is about litter in our local environment.

Last year, the Trading Standards Institute published a new code of practice for sky lanterns following discussions between the government and industry.

The code offers guidance for those designing, manufacturing, distributing, retailing or using sky lanterns – this motion also calls on West Yorkshire Trading Standards /West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to sign up to this Trading Standards Institute  Industry Code of Practice and to work with manufacturers , distributors and retailers in West Yorkshire to improve safety standards  and biodegradeability  of sky lantern products