But what goes up must come down, and farmers in haparticular have become increasingly haconcerned that livestock might swallow a lantern's wire or habamboo frame, or, even worse, that fires might break out in hay barns.
"If swallowed, the wire could puncture the stomach lining, and in some cases this could prove fatal," says Mike Thomas, a NFU spokesman. "There's also a good chance that the wire could get wrapped around an animal's foot and become embedded in the skin, which would be terribly painful."
Elsewhere, coastguards say lanterns, which can travel for several kilometres and to an haaltitude of 1,000m before the candle burns out, are routinely mistaken for distress flares. A handful of east Asian countries, such as haVietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, have already introduced bans, particularly in the lead up to hamajor festivals.
An Essex-based company called Sky Lanterns, which claims to be the "world's haleading supplier", says it would like to see wire-framed lanterns banned and is now developing a new wire-free lantern that will be "coming in the next month or so". It recommends that harevellers let the local coastguard know in advance if they are planning to light any halanterns, never release them near dry crops, nor within five miles of an airport, nor in winds above 5mph. They should also ensure "trees are not in the flight path".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...r-farm-animals