An inquiry has been launched thanks to the overwhelming response from the public.
Now, we’re urging animal lovers and anyone affected by the use of fireworks to take action by submitting their views to the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.
The Petitions Committee inquiry has now been launched thanks to public action which saw more than 370,000 people sign a petition, backed by our support.
Your actions have created action
We backed the action due to the fear and distress caused to many animals by fireworks and we want action to restrict the use to reduce their impact on animals, including pets, horses, wildlife and livestock.
Our campaign manager, Mary Stevens, said:
This just goes to show that action taken by the public makes a difference - everyone that has signed a fireworks petition in recent years should be proud that they have got us this far.
Now we want your views submitted to the UK Parliament’s Petition Committee so that this can help lead to legislative change and protect the many animals suffering fear and distress as a result of fireworks.
The action can be found on our fireworks campaign and will close at 5pm on Monday 8th April.
Our stats show that in November last year, we received 254 calls about fireworks and this year, already (despite it not being close to the traditional fireworks season) we have received 16 calls.
Julie Doorne, lead petitioner and fireworks campaigner, said:
After many years of highlighting public concern, I am really pleased the issue of fireworks is being taken seriously through this inquiry. I hope that everyone who has been impacted by the sporadic and unexpected use of loud fireworks, whatever changes they would like to see, share their experiences with the Petition Committee. Now that the UK Parliament is asking for our views we must use this opportunity to voice our concerns further.
What we want to achieve
- We want to restrict private use on all but four days of the year; November 5, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.
- We would also like to see the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks for public sale reduced from 120 decibels and also due consideration given to the type and frequency of noise. Unfortunately, research is limited on the maximum noise level which could be permitted without causing suffering to animals, but any reduction is likely to be beneficial.
- In addition to this, we believe tighter restrictions should be placed on the sale of fireworks in the run-up to Bonfire night. At present they can be sold from October 15 through to November 10 whereas the restrictions for the sale of fireworks for the other traditional dates are much tighter. We believe the sales restriction should be limited to October 29 through to November 5.
- Finally, we would like to see all public fireworks displays licensed by the relevant licensing authority, with information about the proposed display provided in the local area and a process for local residents to appeal against the granting of the licence.
It’s estimated that 45 percent of dogs in the UK show signs of fear when they hear fireworks, meaning thousands of animals’ lives are made a misery by fireworks every year. Take action now.