A new year is approaching. On New Year’s Eve itself, it is a tradition for many to set off fireworks. But this creates a number of challenges and fears for animals and owners. Farmers hope people will take care and have a wish: Follow the rules and only set off fireworks between 6pm and 2am on New Year’s Eve. – Then everyone who has animals can be prepared, and then it will be easier for everyone to handle New Year’s Eve, says farmer Inger Synøve Johnsen. Inger Synøve Johnsen is a farmer and deputy manager of Vestfold Bondelag. Photo: Ken Markus Christensen / news Can have major consequences Johnsen is a full-time farmer with her husband and has pigs, chickens and around a thousand cattle on the farm in Våle. On New Year’s Eve, they take care to have the doors closed and provide extra feed. In addition, they keep an extra watch in the barn, as the animals can become frightened and restless. – In the worst case, they can break out and run away. Loose animals in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve, nobody wants that. Bodhild Fjelltveit is a sheep farmer in Bergen and 2nd deputy leader of the Norwegian Farmers Association. In addition, she works a lot with animal welfare. All animals react differently, but some can become wild, she says. – We have many animals in the barn that can be frightened, and this can quickly have major consequences. So then you have to think about whether it is necessary to fire up the rockets. Bodhild Fjelltveit is a sheep farmer and 2nd deputy head of the Norwegian Farmers Association. Photo: Karl Erik Berge / Bondebladet The most important thing For 38 years, Mimmi Hauglind has been a veterinarian. She is clear in her speech when it comes to what pet owners should do on New Year’s Eve. – Supervision. That is the most important thing. – What can happen to the animals when they get scared? – When animals get scared, they can think of running away if it is practically possible. They can also run wildly around in a bin and injure themselves. But during the years as a veterinarian, Hauglind has not experienced this. She is still not particularly fond of rockets. – There are so many animals that react, and especially many smaller domestic animals that get scared. Encouragement Fjelltveit hopes people will take care of the last day of the year. And rather have a common and public space for launching fireworks. – As an animal owner, I have more sense for it. First and foremost with regard to animals that become stressed and scared. In addition, she hopes that farmers think of their own safety first, if the animals react. – An ox or a cow weighs between half and a whole ton, so thinking that you are going in to calm down is probably not the smartest thing to do.
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Farmers ask people to limit the fireworks – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
