Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a follow-up independent study of the research undertaken in 2013 on the effect of sky lanterns and helium balloons on the health and welfare of livestock.

Defra’s study of 2013 Sky lanterns and helium balloons: an assessment of impacts on livestock and the environment suggested that, while anecdotal reports and media coverage could imply that there is widespread concern from farming groups and others over the impacts of sky lanterns and balloons on the health and welfare of livestock, the evidence presented indicated that the number of cases reported each year of animals affected through ingestion of sky lantern and balloon debris is very small in the context of the wider livestock population. While it is recognised that there may be a significant level of under-reporting, on the basis of the evidence presented, we have concluded that the overall impact is very limited. No further assessment has been done on this.

General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (SI 1803) make it an offence to place a product on the market that is not safe. In addition, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has published a Code of Practice for sky lanterns, which aims to provide guidance for manufacturers, importers, and retailers.