Nature Trust Malta said it is seriously concerned about the media release reporting that the Għaqda Mużikali Marija Bambina, Banda Vittorja of Naxxar will be releasing a record breaking amount of balloons as part of the feast activities next week.

What goes up would eventually come down and, since our islands are surrounded by sea, most balloons would definitely end up in the sea: making the collection of burst balloons impossible, Nature Trust said in a statement.

Such debris harms marine wildlife including turtles, sea birds, dolphins and other aquatic life, which ingest it, eventually causing a long and painful death.  NTM urges urges the responsible authorities to take the necessary legislative measures to prohibit such harmful activities. 

Worth noting is that mass balloon releases have already been banned by several local authorities in the UK, USA and Australia, NTM said.

NTM urged Għaqda Mużikali Marija Bambina, Banda Vittorja to strongly re-consider its activity and instead donate the money to be spent on the balloons to a charitable institution. 

Alternatively, if the balloons have already been bought, NTM suggests that instead of being released, a massive balloon sculpture is  constructed such that when the balloons eventually burst, their debris is contained.