As the Germans prepared to launch more than 40,000 tons of pyrotechnics On New Year’s Day, Anja Gerauer planned her escape in the hope of protecting her dog Joy from it a night with terrible noise.
Like hundreds of other pet owners, she booked a room for herself and her four-legged companion a hotel near the airportwhere a ban on fireworks means chaos will be far away as the new year begins.
Gerauer, a 56-year-old filmmaker who lives near Frankfurt, still remembers the first New Year’s Eve she celebrated after adopting her mixed-breed dog from an animal shelter in Romania three years ago.
“He barked all night and he remained under the bed, shaking. “I will not subject myself or my dog to this again,” he said.
German medical associations and police unions have been pushing for this for a long time The firing of fireworks is prohibited, by highlighting the annual number of injuries, particularly from illegal and homemade explosive devices.
This call was joined by environmental groups concerned about air pollution from particulate matter, as well as groups committed to animal welfare.
“The noise, the smell of burning and the flashing lights are a nightmare for animals,” warned the German Animal Welfare Association.
The director of the two Berlin zoos, Andreas Knieriem, also called for a ban on gunpowder in the city center because it causes explosions and lightning They stress animals in enclosures, houses and in the wild.
“Why some people voluntarily want to create a warlike atmosphere in their neighborhood is a mystery to me,” he said.
As every year, a heated debate has broken out in Germany about the advisability of a ban, which Friedrich Merz’s government is resisting.
Tourists are often surprised by the celebrations, which are often fueled by alcohol. The explosions echo between the buildings, Rockets bounce off the windows and the air fills with smoke, all with the blue police lights and ambulance sirens in the background.
“New Year’s Eve in Germany is the night when all the nice, normal, practical, risk-averse people are replaced by gunpowder-bragging, death-hungry arsonists,” writes British author Adam Fletcher in his book “How to Be German.”
This year promised to end in the same way: imports of fireworks rose 62% compared to last year, reaching 42,400 tons, according to statistics office data through September.
The numbers do not include illegal importsis considered particularly dangerous and is responsible for many serious injuries such as loss of vision, hearing loss, burns or hand amputations.
The Artistic Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Association has dismissed many of these concerns, arguing that serious accidents are “almost entirely due to illegal fireworks.”
So far, many politicians have rejected his ban, for fear of being labeled as a killjoy.
The German capital’s mayor, Kai Wegner, said that “99% of Berliners use fireworks very responsibly” and that “he has no intention of punishing these families.”
Gerauer and his dog Joy, on the other hand, wanted to take a relaxing walk in the forest before their stay at the Moxy Hotel at the airport.
“You have a reservation 100 rooms for customers with dogs,” said a receptionist.
Other owners simply choose to camp at airline terminals.
A spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport said: “It is not uncommon for dog owners to visit the terminal on New Year’s Eve and relax on the benches with their four-legged friends at their feet.”
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