Calls for tighter controls on Chinese lanterns use
LANDOWNERS and farmers in East Sussex are calling for tighter controls over the construction and use of Chinese lanterns as the wedding season gets into full swing.
The wire framed lanterns – which lift into the air with a lighted candle inside them – have become a popular addition to wedding festivities, but the CLA says people need to understand the threat they pose to livestock and to standing crops.
The problem is that the paper lanterns burn out leaving the wire frames to fall to the ground, posing a potential risk of injury to livestock and damage to crops.
Last year Fletching farmer Derek Lingham said lanterns were landing in fields where his cattle graze and he was concerned they could cause a fire.
NFU branch chairman Derek has 100 head of beef cattle at East Park Farm.
He has found lanterns on his drive, in fields and woods. He said the wires are so thin they could embed themselves in the skin of an animal's foot.
Another Sussex landowner commented: "It is not of course just ripening arable crops and hayfields (that are at risk) but thatched roofs, conifer plantations, heathland and so on.
"On a wider issue there is the problem of additional litter in the countryside."
A local land agent added: "I have now specifically added a contract clause in venue letting agreements banning such things.
"Not always popular with the wedding party, I'm afraid."
So far two deaths have been reported: in Cheshire, a cow died after swallowing the remains of a lantern, which ruptured its stomach, and a foal in Shropshire had to be put down after it injured itself on a fence because it had been scared by one of the decorations.
Farmers have raised concerns that the lights could set fire to fields of standing crops or dry hay and straw in summer.
While the lanterns are supposed to remain airborne until they have burned out, if they get caught in a tree or building, they could come back to earth sooner than intended.
CLA South East regional director Rupert Ashby said: "I can understand why Chinese lanterns are so popular.
They are captivating as they drift away on a summer's night, and we don't want to be killjoys.
We just want people to think what happens to them once they land, just as they might consider the consequences of leaving anything behind in the countryside."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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