... to feel really angry every time I see balloons being released into the sky

Twiceasnice that sounds a lovely alternative.

crystaltipps, a good post and there are some thoughtful alternative suggestions, along with the others of flowers, feathers etc. on this thread.

I think everything in moderation . The sky isn't full of balloons . Living in this nanny state is bad enough and he told you can't do one more thing . It's no wonder the kids today cry and have anxiety if you say boo to them . I will be having balloons released at my funeral , I'm not talking hundreds . I'm entitled to have my last wish .

Balloons cause untold harm to wildlife, lots of animals try to eat them when the balloons eventually land. The other thing that annoys me is the fad for Chinese lanterns which cause distress to wildlife and can start fires. There is no need to utter the countryside, harm wildlife or set things alight to celebrate or commemorate an event.

Most balloons are latex rubber and biodegrade in quite a short time. It's those crinkly non-stretch ones you have to avoid.

I'm entitled

That says a lot.

DOVES????

What happens to the poor birds once they are let loose away from their homes.
Homing Pigeons maybe but please not poor doves!.

I think doves act the same as homing pigeons and go back home. The problem with the letting out of large numbers of birds is if they are noticed by a bird of prey and end up becoming part of a feast.

cellistIf you are offended by my saying bloody and pissed report my posts and see what Gransnet says about it.
I do not need to be told by you what am I can and cannot post. Go over to Mumsnet where F... and C... are the norm, and yes you are patronising. Thankou for your comments ann60

I totally agree. Its terrible for the environment and the animals that live in it.
The same as Chinese lanterns. I believe they should be banned along with balloon releases!!!

On the subject of helium balloons I heard a woman say 'Well it's ok if you release them over the sea'. Makes you want to weep - why is the sea still regarded as a dustbin or a sink by some?

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201906/medium-31714-cc58b8cf-384c-4a4c-82c8-0405b49ee976.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201906/medium-829740-894241e4-f500-427c-9c61-8544b506212c.jpeg

On a slightly lighter note, I have a cat who seems to have a rubber fetish and who collects balloons, elastic bands and has even brought in latex gloves.

She’s brought in as many as 6 or 7 some days and has occasionally been stopped by the cat flap when the balloon has still been fully inflated.

The pictures are of her collection around a year ago although it’s more than double now. We put them all in a tub which she occasionally empties and rummages through!

I used to worry she might choke on them but she carries them in carefully, announcing loudly she’s brought a present in before she starts playing.

I know that I’m off-topic here so hope I haven’t offended anyone.

When my son died he was cremated we have an urn with a cricket memorial. But as he was not buried the first few years of his death we would buy a balloon for his birthday and take it to our local woods and let it go.we don’t do it now. But it was just a little thing we did with our gd. But she did ask not to do it anymore after a while.
We had a balloon from a school in dartford drop into our
Garden some years ago with a message, I did reply to it
They just wanted to know how far it would go.

rafichagran I’m so sorry that others cannot understand the simple symbolic sense that the ballooon release brings to you and your family.

HappyYogi I'm in total agreement with you. I hate the release of balloons, Chinese Lanterns (before the ban, these were actually a cause in some property fires as well as being polluting) also beware of plastic which holds beer/soft drink cans together in packs.

Before anybody shouts at me for being a hypocrite, yes I drive a small petrol car, no bus pass until 2021 if they still exist, bus/taxi fares are prohibitive here so I would be housebound & reliant on deliveries. I eat very little meat usually chicken or fish & lots of veg. I don't fly, only time I've flown was 26 years ago, short haul.

I recycle as much as possible & upcycle, re-use, pass on to reduce what is sent to landfill. My milk is delivered in glass bottles, I don't use plastic bags in supermarkets/shops. I buy everything in glass bottles where possible.

I have seen lots of photos of the damage done to farm animals & wildlife, living in Rural areas all my life brings an awareness which many others don't see.

Ok back behind the barricades with my tin hat & flak jacket.

I agree balloons will have to go with all other unnecessary luxuries which are made using finite natural resources. I too feel fearful when I see people behaving unaware of the looming catastrophe.

I'm not in favour. They end up harming wildlife or hung in trees too far up for anyone to remove and there for years, getting tattier and tattier.
I don't agree with bunches and bunches of flowers in cellophane, candles, balloons and toys left at the scene of accidents in all weathers either.

I think people are only just becoming aware of the damaging effect balloons have on the environment - and some probably still don't know. The trouble is, there are so many products now that people have become accustomed to which are bad for the environment. Apparently most wet wipes contain plastic and, although some are claimed to be biodegradable that has been reported as being misleading.

Individuals will hopefully decide for themselves not to purchase these sorts of products. The thing is, we don't really have the luxury of time to start changing our behaviour because the problem is increasing by the minute. Perhaps, as with plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers, governments may need to lead the way on this - starting with mounting campaigns to raise awareness but possibly more pro-active measures will be required.

I agree about those poor white doves which have become little earners for their breeders and which soon after their 'setting free' become food for cats and foxes.

Totally agree with this post - “But I cannot see how causing certain pollution and potential death to innocent wildlife out of sight makes the loss of a precious human life more endurable. Two wrongs really don't make a right comes to mind.”
MOnica - everything you said is spot on.
If people want and need to do something symbolic, they should do something that does not cause needless suffering to wildlife. If children saw the resulting dead birds and animals, whose death they had caused, would they still feel comforted by their actions?

Anja others can understand and do understand the symbolic meaning of raficha's balloon release, if raficha's balloon release was the only one, it might be acceptable, but there are thousands of raficha's out there all letting loose balloons as a symbolic gesture at a very sad time - and that is the problem. The symbolic gesture is killing wildlife and other animals and polluting the sea. Do raficha and the thousands of others want to to have dead wildlife and a pollutted sea as a memory of their loved one? Why not have a woodland burial, leave your precious one among trees and wildlife and plant a tree or trees to remember them. Balloons are for minutes, trees are forever.

In ten years’ time, though I am unlikely to see it, there will be astonishment at the knowledge of how many helium balloons have been sent on their way to wildlife habitats. I sincerely hope so anyway.

Every right to be angry, MamaC.

Would it have been such a bloody hardship for the perpetrator to have taken them home and binned them?

Apparently, yes.

Well, what goes around comes around......

No. However you want you dress it up as an innocent expression of emotion it is not that. Releasing balloons into the sky is not a sign of love, bereavement, care or whatever emotion you want to attach to it. It is pollution entirely created and driven by commercial interests.

Just where do people think the the deflated gobs of plastic or latex go? Out of sight, out of mind? Someone elss's backyard? The sea? They do not magically disappear. They linger, they poison and they pollute. An expression of love? I don't think so.

We only have one backyard - the Earth, our Earth, our shared backyard, our shared future. And if you don't care for your own sakes then please care for our precious grandchildren's sakes because they are the ones who will be dealing with all this crap. Literally.

People have celebrated events and mourned loved ones and achievements for thousands of years without balloons. Please think about that.

OMG. I said this kind of thing on Mumsnet years ago. (Apricity's post there)

Came down on me like a ton of bricks they did. You'd think people would know by now. I do think a lot of people have realised about the potential damage.