The farming industry renews their yearly message - 'sky lanterns are a danger to livestock and buildings'
Farmers, landowners and rural businesses have urged the public and councils to think twice about setting off sky lanterns due to the dangers associated with them.
Numerous organisations have been working hard to influence councils across the UK to ban the release of sky lanterns and balloons on their land.
Twenty five councils in England have already banned sky lanterns, and the majority of Wales’ 22 local authorities.
The National Farmers Union continues to call for an outright ban on the sale of sky lanterns.
What are the risks?
There is a risk to animals and livestock - frames can contaminate forage crops which are later fed to the animals. The frames of sky lanterns can harm or even kill farm animals if they are eaten. Animals can get tangled or injured from the sharp wire frames, and bamboo framed lanterns can splinter causing serious injuries if ingested.
They often cause a false alarm - the Coastguard has reported incidents of sky lanterns being mistaken for distress signals and the Civil Aviation Authority are concerned with airborne lanterns being drawn into aircraft engines. They can also delay take-off and landing.
Sky lanterns can be a major fire risk – once lit and set off into the sky you don't know where an ignited lantern will land. Fields of standing crops, hay and straw stacks, farm buildings and thatched roofs are all at significant risk of being set alight.
And lastly, they are a litter nuisance - farmers and other land owners have to clear up the remnants of sky lanterns from their fields.
The farming industry is urging the public to send a letter to local MPs, prospective Parliamentary candidate, local council/authority or local venues that regularly hold events asking them to support a ban.
'Risks are significant'
CLA South West Director, John Mortimer said the fire risks associated with releasing sky lanterns is 'significant'.
"They pose a threat to homes, businesses and lives in both urban and rural areas - add to that the proven risks to livestock and wildlife and there is a compelling case for a ban."
Mr Mortimer said that if other authorities were to follow suit, it would send a strong message to the public that this is a very important issue which requires serious action.
“It would be a real boost if all councils backed our stance and helped ensure that someone’s home, property, business or life isn’t destroyed by one of these flying bonfires.”
“We strongly object to any guidance that suggests there is a safe way to light and release these lanterns, because the safest thing to do is not to light them at all. They pose an enormous fire risk, and endanger the lives of both humans and animals.
“Even after it has finished flaming, the fuel cell of a lantern can register a spot temperature of over 200°C – and even after two minutes it can be around the 100°C mark. Lanterns landing or crossing fields can panic livestock, but the biggest concern to farmers is that their animals can suffer a slow, agonising death if they ingest debris from spent lanterns.”
'A mass landing of 28 sky lanterns'
Beef and arable farming couple Tony and Sue Robinson from Coolham, West Sussex experienced a mass landing of 28 sky lanterns on their farm in 2013 and are urging people not to release them.
They believe they were lucky to escape a fire, given many sky lanterns had landed alight, scorching the ground around them.
Sue Robinson said: “All we want is for people to be aware of what could happen and we hope we will dissuade people from releasing sky lanterns. If this had happened three weeks earlier, during the dry weather, we could have had a major fire here as many lanterns landed in fields that were earlier growing corn.
“By the burn marks, many were still alight on landing. One landed yards from our supplies of winter straw and feed for the cattle.”