MILTON, Ga. — The Milton City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance aimed to protect its many horses from the noise of fireworks.
It bans the ignition of fireworks within 200 yards of a horse farm or facility where horses are kept or housed.
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“There’s a lot of passionate Milton citizens that have been behind this for a long time,” said Juliette Johnson, a city council member and manager of the Painted Horse Winery and Vineyards, one of more than 200 horse farms in Milton.
The ordinance came after State Representative Jan Jones, whose district includes Milton, introduced a bill in the legislature that Gov. Brian Kemp signed in May. It allows municipalities and counties to ban setting off fireworks up to 200 yards within a place horses are kept.
“There’s been multiple community members that have had issues with our horses freaking out during a fireworks event,” Johnson said.
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Horses are stressed and agitated by the blast and crackling of fireworks.
“So horses are flight animals, so if they hear a giant boom, they’re gonna run, and you don’t know where they’re gonna run to or what they’re gonna go through,” she said.
Her brother, attorney Jeffrey Jackson, said the 200-yard rule shouldn’t stamp out any fiery celebrations.
“I think it’s an adequate distance because I think you want to balance the safety and well-being of the horses versus people’s ability to celebrate and have a good time,” he said. “The horses do get alarmed and startled, so I do think this is a good thing to put in place.”
The ordinance, along with the state law, goes into effect on July 1.
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