INLSA
SPCA kennel superintendent Juliet Nadarajan and Lady, a dog available for adoption, plead with revellers to consider animals when lighting fireworks to bring in the new year. Picture: Terry Haywood
Leanne Jansen
NEW Year’s Eve revellers who violate the city’s by-laws on the use of fireworks will spend the first day of 2012 in a jail cell, the metro police have warned.
At the same time, the SPCA has urged those celebrating to be considerate of animals.
Those lighting loud and illegal fireworks, outside the specified times, near hospitals, petrol stations and animal shelters could be fined up to R500 and could be arrested on their second transgression, metro police spokesman Eugene Msomi said.
Fireworks labelled “low hazardous” may be lit to herald the new year for 30 minutes from 11.45pm tomorrow night until 12.15am on Sunday.
Msomi warned that children younger than 16 were not allowed to light fireworks in the absence of an adult, and that crackers which made a “loud bang” would not be tolerated.
Fireworks could “definitely not” be used on the beach by private persons.
In the interim, the metro police would continue checking shops and hawkers in the city to ensure they had permits to sell fireworks.
“If a shop does not have a permit, they are charged and their stock is impounded. The (errant) hawker’s trading permit will be revoked,” Msomi said. He said people could phone the metro police at 031 361 0000 with any queries.
The Durban and Coast SPCA was bracing itself for an influx of terrified runaway pets on New Year’s Eve.
Spokeswoman Claire Buisman said that Christmas had been “okay”, but that New Year celebrations were “quite loud” by nature.
She advised pet owners to medicate their animals to keep them calm, and allow them to stay indoors, as scared animals that ran away were at risk of being hit by cars.
Buisman said that aside from dogs, cats and birds were also sensitive to loud noises.
