When Fireworks Fly, Animals Die’: PETA Ad Blitz Targets Niagara Falls’ Fireworks
For Immediate Release:
July 1, 2025
Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382
Because Niagara Falls Tourism in Ontario is once again hosting 151 nights of ear-shattering fireworks over the falls through October 13, more than a dozen warnings from PETA have popped up inside Buffalo’s Walden Galleria to remind everyone that fireworks can be fatal for dogs, cats, and wildlife as they frantically try to escape the booms and blasts.
“The Niagara Falls Tourism board is fine with unleashing 151 nights of thunderous fireworks—but when it comes to listening to the countless people speaking out against them, they go silent,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA urges the public to join our call to end these nightly blasts at Niagara Falls which cause animals to flee in terror—and to never support fireworks shows that endanger animals’ lives.”
PETA notes that more than 92,000 people and counting have taken action to push Niagara Falls officials to end these deafening displays. During fireworks shows, dogs and cats are known to jump fences or break through windows and screen doors to try to escape the noises, and some are never reunited with their families. Other animals, including wildlife, are hit by cars when they flee onto roads. Pyrotechnics also release toxins—including lead, carbon monoxide, aluminum, and sulfur—which can increase the amount of pollutants in the air by up to 42%.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
