Helium Balloons

[Yorkshire lad]

While looking cows and calves this morning I found a calf chewing a Helium Ballon . Luckily it dropped it when I shouted at it
We regularly find these balloons lying on our land I suppose being west of York and Leeds were in in their flight path
Why is it unacceptable to be a litter lout but it’s ok to launch a ballon
We see huge events where thousands of balloons are released to create a spectacular effect .
I suppose if I was to raise the issue I’d be called a killjoy

 

[Nearly]

Plenty of killjoys posting pics online and telling people the damage they can do. Good.
Fish and wildlife will get more sympathy than farm animals.

 

[TripleSix]

I've just been muttering about this very subject today as a retrieved the remains of a helium balloon from a fence.

I pick up at least 6 a year here at home, I can't stand the thought of a calf eating one and dying.

 

[egbert]

While looking cows and calves this morning I found a calf chewing a Helium Ballon . Luckily it dropped it when I shouted at it
We regularly find these balloons lying on our land I suppose being west of York and Leeds were in in their flight path
Why is it unacceptable to be a litter lout but it’s ok to launch a ballon
We see huge events where thousands of balloons are released to create a spectacular effect .
I suppose if I was to raise the issue I’d be called a killjoy

I'm mystified why a mass release of the blessed balloons isn't prosecuted as a litter offence...they're hardly going to pick em up again are they?

Mind, if i could launch all my bale wrap into the air................

 

[B'o'B]

Yes I have to pick quite a few up each year. It must be a worry if you’ve got cattle. The old rubber ones aren’t as bad as the silver ones but you don’t see them much now.

 

[sawdust]

Did the calf moo in a comical high pitched tone?

 

[delilah]

Yes of course they (and chinese lanterns) want banning, it's such a no-brainer you wonder why it even has to be discussed, even more so now that the population at large is aware of plastic pollution in all its forms.
It crops up regularly on here, and every time you are left asking "Where are the NFU ?".

 

[Kidds]

Helium has very important medical uses and we decide to stick it in a balloon and let it go. We will run out of helium and future generations will look back on us and wonder wtf were we thinking.

 

[Barleymow]

were about 50 landed here all tied together

 

[TheTallGuy]

There's been a lot of talk about this recently due to the disruption to the rail network when these balloons get caught up in the overhead power lines.

 

[reboot]

I'm mystified why a mass release of the blessed balloons isn't prosecuted as a litter offence...they're hardly going to pick em up again are they?

Mind, if i could launch all my bale wrap into the air................

Ofcourse if you had an old vehicle lying around, took the plates off, drove round York a threw a ball of silage wrap into the odd persons garden around town. The newspapers would be interested in “who was flytipping silage wrap around town?”.
You could then anonymously ring up on a cheap unregistered pay as you go mobile and make a statement for them to print that it is the countryside retaliation for discarded balloon and Chinese lantern waste.

It would then get its five minutes of fame, no one in trouble and might just get the public’s attention to how annoying it is.

 

[steveR]

Yes of course they (and chinese lanterns) want banning, it's such a no-brainer you wonder why it even has to be discussed, even more so now that the population at large is aware of plastic pollution in all its forms.
It crops up regularly on here, and every time you are left asking "Where are the NFU ?".

There was a Private Members bill recently that went through that will see the bloody Lanterns banned... Be good if the balloons were added on

 

[Goweresque]

There was a Private Members bill recently that went through that will see the bloody Lanterns banned... Be good if the balloons were added on

I wouldn't hold your breath - it was introduced as a so called '10 Minute Rule' Bill, which is highly unlikely to ever be made law. MPs tend to use the 10 minute Rule to introduce a Bill just to publicise an issue they have an interest in. According to Wikipedia only 60 10 minute Rule Bills have made it to the statute books since 1945, so less than one per year. And the list of current 10 minute Rule Bills is over 100 long:

https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/private-members.html

 

[steveR]

I wouldn't hold your breath - it was introduced as a so called '10 Minute Rule' Bill, which is highly unlikely to ever be made law. MPs tend to use the 10 minute Rule to introduce a Bill just to publicise an issue they have an interest in. According to Wikipedia only 60 10 minute Rule Bills have made it to the statute books since 1945, so less than one per year. And the list of current 10 minute Rule Bills is over 100 long:

https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/private-members.html

That's disappointing... I was under the impression that this had such cross party support, it would/should make to the Statute Books, possibly as an addendum to other legislation.

 

[Goweresque]

That's disappointing... I was under the impression that this had such cross party support, it would/should make to the Statute Books, possibly as an addendum to other legislation.

It takes a lot of Parliamentary time for a Bill to become law, and the Government largely controls what Parliament discusses, so any Bill without the support of the Government will almost certainly fail to become law. There is a limited amount of Parliamentary time set aside for Private Members Bills each year, and all MPs enter a ballot, the top 20 get the chance to introduce a Bill with the first out of the hat having the greatest chance of making it through the process to become law. Even then more than 50% of Private Members Bills fail for lack of Parliamentary time, and/or lack of support from MPs.

 

[egbert]

Ne'er mind the law thing....why aren't bridge blocking hippies and teenage swedish girls lecturing the idiots how anti-social they are?