FireOne tells zoo, 'Let's talk' after kangaroo dies

The public is calling for a ban on fireworks after the death of a male baby red kangaroo.

The company in charge of the Independence Day fireworks display at Queen's Park Savannah is hoping to meet with officials of the Emperor Valley Zoo to determine the best way forward .

In a Facebook post on Friday, the Zoological Society said, “Our animals and the families they are part of cannot continue in this way.”

FireOne Firework director Andre Abraham told Newsday his company applied for and was granted a variation of noise certificate. He added that after the August 31 fireworks display he contacted Gupte Lutchmedial, president of the Zoological Society, and offered to meet with him. That meeting has not happened.

Abraham said he wants to find a way to mitigate the impact of fireworks on zoo animals and is “very concerned” about what happened to the kangaroo. “We need to meet so we can find a way to co-exist. Humans and animals as well,” he said.

Lutchmedial was in a meeting when Newsday called and said he could not give much information on the death of the kangaroo.

The zoo’s full post read: “We have already spoken about the loud noise levels and close proximity to the zoo of this year’s Independence night fireworks. This has affected not only our animals but animals and their families across Port of Spain. We have heard numerous stories. Within a short time of the fireworks starting we observed the intense fluttering of some of our smaller birds who died within minutes and several other animals were visibly traumatised. We have worked to stabilise those affected animals but unfortunately we are sad to announce that one of our small male kangaroos did not recover from the shock and trauma experienced. On the night and since then we did our best with our animals. Now we must do more. We make a public call for a complete ban on fireworks in TT. Our animals and the families they are part of cannot continue in this way.”

A week before the Independence Day celebration, the zoo also complained about noise from an event at cricket icon Brian Lara's home nearby, which Lara has since apologised for. Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat had intervened to have the noise level turned down.

In an interview with Newsday in July, Abraham said his company used fireworks to encourage the people of TT to be proud of their country.

The Environmental Management Authority (EMA), in an interview in March, said noise was not the culture of TT and was looking at noiseless fireworks. The EMA said the legal limit between 8 pm and 8 am is 65 decibels. To go above that level, event promoters can apply for a variation, which will allow them to have sound up to 85 decibels. If they do not apply for the variation then they are obligated to stick within the already prescribed limits.

Those who breach the noise levels are fined $10,000 for a company and $5,000 for an individual. Repeat offenders must pay a $10,000 bond upfront and if they re-offend that money is seized.