Fireworks have long been part of New Year’s Eve celebrations on St. Maarten, a familiar spectacle of colour and sound welcoming the year ahead. This year six professional firework displays have been approved across the island.
The guidance accompanying those approvals is responsible and necessary. Permits, restricted sale periods, warnings about illegal fireworks, and reminders to consider pets all reflect an effort to manage risk.
But they also raise a broader question: is management enough when the activity itself causes harm?
Across the Kingdom, the answer is increasingly no. The Netherlands will implement a near-total ban on consumer fireworks in 2026, allowing only professional displays and very light children’s fireworks. The motivation is clear: public safety, environmental protection, and animal welfare. Aruba has already tightened its rules, with animal advocates calling for a full ban. In Curaçao, public debate around loud fireworks and safety continues to grow. The regional and international direction is unmistakable.
St. Maarten currently occupies a middle ground, relying on permits, time limits, and personal responsibility rather than outright restrictions. Yet experience suggests this balance is fragile.
Fireworks are not harmless entertainment. For animals, they can be deeply distressing. Dogs, cats, livestock, and wildlife experience intense fear from sudden explosions and flashing lights. With far more sensitive hearing than humans, many panic, injure themselves, escape safe spaces, or go missing. Birds abandon nests, and wild animals become disoriented in already-pressured habitats. These effects are well documented and predictable.
This is not an argument against celebration. It is an argument for evolution.
Societies mature by reassessing traditions in light of new knowledge and shared responsibility. Noise pollution, animal welfare, and public safety are no longer secondary concerns; they are measures of how we coexist.
There are alternatives: quieter fireworks, drone and laser light shows, and community events that emphasise light, music, and togetherness without fear or trauma. These options allow celebration without collateral damage.
As we welcome a new year, reflection should extend beyond countdowns and spectacle. Renewal also means choosing which practices still serve us – and which no longer do.
Progress, sometimes, begins not with a louder bang, but with a quieter, more thoughtful choice.
