Ban fireworks - upset horse owner

DONNA WALSH/ Waikato Times

WOUNDED: Cambridge woman Jackie Chamberlain is distraught after her horse suffered a wound to his side after being spooked by fireworks at Newstead on Saturday night.

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A Cambridge woman is starting a petition for a ban on the private sale and display of fireworks after her horse suffered a massive gash to his side after being spooked on Saturday night.

The gaping wound suffered by Jackie Chamberlain's 17-year-old stallion Prestige, or Jimmy, was so deep it was only a centimetre away from gouging out his internal organs.

Mrs Chamberlain has grazed Prestige on a Newstead property for the past four years.

But on Saturday night, neighbours let off several fireworks resulting in Prestige running scared. He ploughed through a post and rail fence and bolted 1km down Newstead Rd before coming to a halt at a nearby property.

A fence post ripped a dinner-plate sized chunk from Prestige's side and left a number of wounds to the back of his legs from when he attempted to jump the fence.

Mrs Chamberlain broke down as she recalled the incident. Her first thought was to get her hands on a gun to put her beloved horse out of his misery.

She expected it to be about seven months before Prestige's painful wound healed properly and even then he would still have a hole in his side.

Prestige had clocked up thousands of hours as a sports and endurance horse. He had such a placid nature she used him for horseback collections for IHC. Mrs Chamberlain held no malice towards the people who let off the fireworks. "I don't blame the people that let off the fireworks but I just wish that people were more aware of how fireworks affect animals. They should ban the private sale of fireworks and have organised displays away from homes so that people know to lock their animals up."

She would begin circulating a petition nationwide in support of the ban.

"This happens (to animals) every year and nothing ever gets done about it."

Last year, several Kaipaki residents raised concerns about their stock as the Gallagher Group planned a fireworks display at Mystery Creek. In 2007, Matangi woman Shirley Keoghan wrote to Parliament about her concerns after her clydesdale horse fled his paddock after being spooked by fireworks. And in 2003, a Hamilton couple tried to sue the city council after their $20,000 show horse was injured after being frightened by fireworks.

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