Woman proves exactly why balloon releases need to stop: ‘This is where they end up’

People have been releasing balloons in the sky for years, whether celebrating a gender reveal or remembering a loved one during a funeral or memorial service. But if you’re thinking of doing one yourself, a woman on TikTok has an urgent message: Please don’t.

Jess (@prairiejess) owns a small farm just north of Houston, Texas, where she has calves, goats and other animals that spend their days grazing in pastures. Yet all too often, she finds tattered balloons made of all sorts of harmful materials caught in her fences, where small animals could easily get to them.

In all these cases, they most likely landed there after someone decided to do a balloon release somewhere far away. But they’ve put Jess’s animals in danger of choking each time, which she suspects many people don’t often think about.

“So imma tell you right now, I don’t care if this video pisses you off,” Jess says in her TikTok while walking through the pasture on her farm. “I was at the Dollar Store a couple weeks ago and this lady’s buying balloons and they say ‘Happy Birthday.'”

As the employee filled the balloons, the customers chatted to pass the time — and at one point, another customer asked who they were for. The woman explained that her family planned to release them for her mother’s birthday. But after hearing that, Jess couldn’t stay silent.

“Oh, you shouldn’t release them,” she told the woman. “You know, those will wind up in pastures and animals could eat them.”

Apparently, that wasn’t enough to change the other customer’s mind.

“Oh well, my mom’s gone and I’m sending her balloons in Heaven,” they said.

But that only got under Jess’s skin even more.

“I hate to tell you people this, but your dead mama or dead relative in Heaven ain’t getting those balloons,” Jess continued. “This is where they end up — right here, in my yard.”

As she says this, Jess walks up to a gold, shiny balloon caught in her fence. It’s ripped to shreds and can no longer fly, but an animal she’s raising on her farm could eat it.

“So, hot take on that: Your dead relative in Heaven doesn’t need any f****** balloons,” Jess concluded.

According to the nonprofit organization Balloons Blow, “All released balloons, including those falsely marketed as ‘biodegradable latex,’ return to Earth as ugly litter. They kill countless animals and cause dangerous power outages.”

In fact, latex balloons are the type most commonly found in the stomachs of dead animals — something Balloons Blow is trying to change by educating people about the dangers of balloon releases.

But it’s not just the balloon itself that’s harmful to animals. The ribbon tied to them to can become wrapped around the necks of animals or wound up within their organs.

“I know they mean well but [they’re] killing animals daily…”

Many commenters quickly agreed with the TikToker.

“I’m with you,” wrote one person, who added that balloons are not just dangerous to land animals, but also to sea life.

Someone else wondered why the practice isn’t outlawed.

“thank you for speaking up,” another person wrote. “drives me insane people do this. I know they mean well but are killing animals daily.”

Others simply pointed out how wasteful and strange balloon releases really are, considering there are better options available for honoring a loved one.

“For real,” one TikToker wrote. “Plant a tree, make a donation, go volunteer. So many ways to show your love.”

Balloons Blow also recommends honoring your loved ones by planting a memorial garden, floating flowers down a stream, blowing bubbles, hosting a food or clothing drive or hanging a commemorative flag or banner.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News — follow us here!

Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: