Four ways to stop firework trouble according to Evening News readers after tragic panda death at Edinburgh Zoo

City residents were left shocked after Edinburgh Zoo said that Roxie, a baby red panda enclosed in the zoo, died as a result of nearby fireworks use on Bonfire Night. Ben Supple, RZSS deputy chief executive, said, “Roxie had recently lost her mum Ginger but was responding well to specialist care from our expert team and was feeding independently.

“Very sadly, she choked on her vomit on bonfire night and our vets believe this was probably a reaction to fireworks. Roxie had access to her den but the frightening noises seem to have been too much for her. We know that fireworks can cause stress to other animals in the zoo and we cannot rule out that they may have contributed to the untimely death of Roxie’s mother Ginger, just five days’ earlier.”

Staff at Edinburgh Zoo said it is likely that the baby red panda died from stress caused by fireworks | RZSS

Roxie’s death has seen readers call for action to tackle Edinburgh’s fireworks trouble, which saw anti-social behaviour in areas such as Niddrie for the third year running. Firework Control Zones (FCNs) were in place from November 1 to November 10 in Niddrie, Balerno, Seafield and Calton Hill following last year’s disruption.

The FCZs placed a temporary crackdown on fireworks in the areas covered, which meant that anyone setting off a firework in the these areas outside of a publish display would be committing a criminal offence. Police Scotland confirmed that there have been 13 arrests in connection with the restrictions laid out in the FCZs so far.

We asked Evening News reader their thoughts on how to tackle Edinburgh’s fireworks issue - here’s what they had to say.

1. Ban the sale of fireworks 

News of Roxie’s death being attributed to the use of fireworks near the zoo has prompted anger from Edinburgh Evening News readers, with many calling for a partial or complete ban on the sale and use of fireworks. This has been further exacerbated by anti-social behaviour incidents seen in areas such as Niddrie earlier this month. 

Gillian Haldane said: “Ban the sale of fireworks. Only organised public displays should be allowed.” Lynda Reid called on politicians to “follow in the footsteps of Australia”, where it is illegal to buy, possess or discharge fireworks without a specific licence for public displays in most states.

2. Harsher punishments for anti-social behaviour

Groups of Edinburgh youths attacked police officers with fireworks on Niddrie Mains Road | NW

Alistair Wells has also called for harsher punishments for those using fireworks in anti-social incidents, saying: “Ban all public sales is a basic starting point, licensed displays only, at least that way they can choose locations carefully and people can have preparation time to protect pets and such like. This leaves the only option for the hooliganism of fire and petrol bombs, which should result in mass arrest and carry serious sentence times for all, including young offenders.”

3. Scrap Bonfire Night

George Waugh has called on scrapping Bonfire Night altogether, adding that it “doesn’t celebrate anything”. He also said it “costs the emergency services a fortune”, and “causes disruption” to residents and animals alike.

4. Use ‘silent fireworks’

While some are calling for the scrapping of Bonfire Night celebrations, Lynn McFadzean has suggested that either silent fireworks or drones could be used in place of the explosives. ‘Silent’ fireworks, while not completely mute, are considerably quieter than traditional explosives.

Standard fireworks bought by the public are limited to a volume of 120 decibels, with this stretching to 176db for professional displays, according to Fireworks Kingdom. Silent fireworks typically range between 70db and 85db. Alice Spencer Brown also backed the use of silent fireworks, adding: “Been to a display when music was used as the backdrop and it was great.”

Fireworks exploding over Edinburgh Castle

‘It is simply unfair to allow this to continue’

Local politicians have called on action to move towards a ban on the sale of fireworks for private use. Edinburgh Greens councillor Dan Heap said: "This very sad news, that really underlines the importance of having a Firework Control Zone across Edinburgh. We know that many animals, from pets to wildlife are caused extreme stress by the noise of fireworks, it is simply unfair to allow this to continue.

“The Scottish Government must urgently clarify guidance on city-wide control zones so we can prevent this happening again next year. I hope that other parties will work with Scottish Greens to bring in this city-wide Firework Control Zone.”

Police Scotland has said Operation Moonbeam, which was launched in 2018 to deal with anti-social behaviour around Bonfire Night, saw incidents decrease year-on-year from 2023, with 18 specialist resources deployed compared to 26 on November 5.

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs, Gold Commander for Operation Moonbeam, said: “Throughout Operation Moonbeam, we have utilised all legislation and policing powers at our disposal and we will continue our discussions with local authorities and Scottish Government to explore further opportunities for reducing fireworks offences for next year and moving forward.”

Council Leader Cammy Day said he was “shocked” by the death of Roxie, saying: “I was shocked to hear of the tragic death of Roxie the red panda at Edinburgh Zoo, as a result of distress caused by fireworks. This is another in the long list of reasons why I’m repeating my calls for a complete ban on the public sale of fireworks. I’m encouraged to see that Edinburgh based animal rights charity OneKind also outlined their support for this today.

“The recent disgraceful scenes we saw from a minority of people in pockets of the city between Halloween and Bonfire Night were utterly shameful and underlined the severity of the situation we faced. I’ve been clear that there needs to be stronger penalties for those who inflict this sort of fear and alarm in our communities. Once again, our Police Scotland and Lothian Buses colleagues were deliberately targeted and, frankly, it’s a miracle that no one was hurt. I fear it’s only a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or worse.

“I want to once again to pay tribute to the emergency services, Lothian Buses, and council officers, including waste colleagues who worked into the early hours to deal with the aftermath of this disorder, and to the local community for their steadfastness throughout this difficult period. The emergency services and our valued colleagues have a tough enough job already without being subjected to violence and abuse.”

Mr Day added: “I have now written to the Lord Advocate on tougher sentencing for fireworks related disorder and to both the UK and Scottish Governments to call for urgent change on the sale of fireworks. We all have a part to play and I’ve already met with police, fire, bus, youth work and other colleagues to discuss next steps, with a particular focus on community work, early intervention and prevention.

“In terms of Firework Control Zones we’re still assessing the impact and effectiveness that these had across the city and we’ll look to see what we can learn from in our future implementation of these zones. As recent years have shown, this problem isn’t going away and we need to take a different tack if we’re going to stamp this sort of behaviour out once and for all.”