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The press have shown much interest in the latest party craze to hit the UK – Chinese lanterns. Lanterns floating in the night’s sky have also been responsible for quite a number of false alarms about UFOs visiting us.
However, a more disturbing side to lanterns was recently highlighted in the Westmoreland Gazette by reporter Daniel Orr.
4:50pm Thursday 23rd September 2010
Chinese Lanterns Could Kill Livestock
Various farming organisations in Cumbria are apparently fighting to outlaw controversial Chinese lanterns, which they believe are putting the lives of animals in jeopardy. In fact this issue has been raging behind the scenes for quite some time.
The following extract comes from my last book – UFO: The Search for Truth.
Farmer warns of lantern danger as ban is threatened
The Gloucestershire press ran an interesting story in November 2009 in which a farmer warned of the, little understood, ecological dangers of releasing lanterns.
Agricultural journalist Mr Adrian Bell, who keeps a number of livestock on land at Chedworth, told the media that after burning, the mini-hot air balloons leave a plate-sized ring of fine wire which can injure and even kill farm and wild animals.
He has effectively urged Chedworth Parish Council to sign up to the National Farmers' Union (NFU) campaign to ban the lanterns and he hopes other people will follow suit.
Over recent months, sightings of lanterns in the Gloucestershire sky and many other locations in the UK have led to a spate of UFO reports.
But Mr Bell told the press that when the lantern lands and the rice paper become wet it disintegrates and leaves a very thin wire frame - but you have no way of finding where it is. He went on to warn that wild animals can get trapped in it, like a snare, and die a painful death.
Mr Bell also apparently warned that farm animals may swallow the wire. Another problem, according to Mr Bell, is that lanterns landing in grass which is being grown for hay or silage may be chopped up when the mower comes along, chopping wire into bits only millimetres long. Cows then eat the hay and may end up with tiny pieces of wire in their gut, which is deadly to them.
This is Glosteshire.co.uk reported that Chedworth Parish Council chairman, Susie Moore, said the parish council was now aware of the 'dangers posed' and supported the NFU campaign. She stated: ‘They may look charmingly romantic as they float up into the night sky - but when they land they can set fire to things like thatched roofs and straw bales. She added: ‘They can cripple and kill livestock and wild animals and cause damage to farm and garden machinery.’
I do know that wire is a hazard, especially to sheep that get it caught up in their fleeces. On numerous occasions whilst fly fishing in wild places I have noticed livestock with bits of barbed wire fence stuck to their woolly coats. The pathetic sight of a sheep trailing chunks of wire in her coat is not a pretty one.
It therefore is certainly worth bearing in mind that lanterns, whilst seeming like quite romantic and harmless items for celebration, may have a more deadly side to both man and beast at times. They are consequently a threat, albeit minimal, to the environment.
They may not quite pose the ferocious threat of Hitler’s unmanned revenge weapon, the V1 rocket that created public chaos in the 1940s, yet we need to be aware of the potential problems they may cause.
No one wants to be a killjoy but watching animals die from the enjoyment sought by others to not really acceptable.
NB. As a footnote I must add that not all suspected lantern sightings have turned out to be such mundane objects.
My own research has marked several instances wherein suspected lanterns have flown ‘against’ strong head winds and kept pace with fast cars on calm nights.
Lanterns being insubstantial items cannot make such feats.
Pat Regan
Author of:
UFO: The Search for Truth and Other Titles
ufobooks
uforesearch
canwritewillwrite
Alien Mom and related articles
More articles by Pat Regan HERE
