Petition: New Year Lantern Celebration Killed Over 30 Animals in a German Zoo

There’s no denying that sky lanterns look gorgeous on the night sky. It’s picturesque and
breathtaking. But is it worth posing a danger to the lives of people and animals. Sky lanterns are literal fire hazards that destroy people’s homes, animals habitats, and severely injure or even kill people and animals. Unfortunately, a sky lantern in Germany turned deadly when it landed on the roof of the Krefeld Zoo’s Great Ape House.
The entire ape house burned down and as Daily Mail reported: “more than 30 animals, including five orangutans, a 48-year-old silverback gorilla called Massa, a chimpanzee and several monkeys, as well as fruit bats and birds, were killed.” That is a lot of innocent animals being condemned to death because some people choose to be careless and celebrate in ways that are dangerous.
Witnesses said they saw sky lanterns flying through the sky shortly after midnight in the area. Sure enough, a lantern with New Year wishes written on it was found in the debris after the fire. Many people were heartbroken by this tragic incident, leaving candles, soft toys, and notes as memorials for the animals in the zoo.
It’s devastating these animals were even in captivity in a zoo at all. There are so many reasons and so much evidence that support boycotting zoos is the right thing to do and that zoos should eventually be a thing of the past. But in this case, the lantern would still have posed a threat to people and animals. It could have landed on someone’s home or in the habitat of wild animals.
Since then, three women came forward admitting that they purchased sky lanterns online not knowing that they were illegal. There is an ongoing investigation, but there was no indication as they shopped or when the product arrived that they were illegal.
While it’s already illegal, people shouldn’t be allowed to sell and ship lanterns there. The women claim they didn’t know which is made believable by the fact that they felt guilty enough to come forward. They should not have had the option to buy and ship the illegal lanterns.

Sign the petition calling for a stronger ban nationwide in Germany!

Such a decision could set a great example for other countries and lead to more bans.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/petition-new-year-lantern-killed-over-30-animals-german-zoo/