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Do Chinese lanterns pose a threat to livestock?

Posted 21/08/2014

There have been renewed calls for restrictions on Chinese lanterns (also known as sky lanterns), after the Country Land and Business Association in Northumberland expressed concerns over their use. It said: “If you think about it, you are setting fire to something and you have no idea how far and in which direction it is going to go.”

These lanterns may also pose a significant risk to livestock, and the Northumberland representative of the NFU has backed calls to restrict their use. David Robson, a farmer from near Morpeth, said: “[…] I’d come down in favour of restricting their use or regulating them.”

The RSPCA and organisations such as the Marine Conservation Society, Soil Association and Women’s Food and Farming Union (WFU) have backed calls for an outright ban on the lanterns, citing the danger to livestock and other animals.