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Written by Paul
Dr Paul Manktelow is a vet who’s worked for almost 20 years on the front line in some of the UK’s busiest veterinary hospitals. As Chief Vet in the Charity Sector, he leads a team of vets and nurses that treat thousands of pets every year. Paul also appears regularly in the media as a TV and radio presenter, writer, public speaker and podcast producer.
Every autumn, millions of pet guardians brace themselves for firework season. For some animals, the sudden bangs and flashes are unsettling. For others, the fear can be extreme enough to cause frantic attempts to escape, injury or physical illness.
For years, we’ve largely treated this as something pet guardians simply have to manage. Walk your dog earlier. Bring the cat inside. Close the curtains. Turn up the television. Create a safe hiding place.
All of that is sensible advice. But there is another question worth asking: should we also be doing more to reduce the problem at source?
A recent UK Government consultation has been looking at exactly that, including whether the maximum noise levels permitted for consumer fireworks should be reduced.
Why Firework Noise Matters
Consumer fireworks in categories F2 and F3 can currently reach noise levels of up to 120 decibels. The Government consultation considered reducing that limit to 110 decibels, with lower limits of 100 or even 90 decibels also considered.
That might sound like a relatively minor adjustment, but the decibel scale isn’t linear. A reduction of 10 decibels is perceived by humans as roughly halving the loudness.
Importantly, the proposals weren’t about banning fireworks altogether. Under the options considered, some of the loudest fireworks could instead be restricted to licensed professional operators and organised displays.
From an animal welfare perspective, that distinction could be important.
The Problem Isn’t Just Fireworks. It’s Unpredictability
An organised Bonfire Night display at 8pm creates challenges for pet guardians, but at least it gives them something incredibly valuable: the ability to prepare.
Dogs can be exercised before dark. Cats can be brought inside. Curtains can be closed and familiar background noise used. Animals with severe firework fear can have a management plan agreed with their vet in advance.
The far harder problem is the firework unexpectedly launched from a nearby garden at 4.30pm on a Tuesday afternoon.
And then another the following evening. And another several days later.
For many households, “firework night” has become a period stretching across several weeks, during which explosions can happen with little or no warning.
Animals don’t understand that the noise is part of a celebration or that it will eventually stop. Some hide or freeze, while others desperately try to escape. As a vet, I’ve seen the consequences of severe fear, including damaged nails from frantic digging, broken teeth and rabbits becoming seriously unwell with stress-related gut stasis.
The impact isn’t restricted to household pets either. Horses are flight animals and can injure themselves when suddenly startled, while wildlife has no guardian closing the curtains or preparing a safe hiding place.
Would Quieter Fireworks Solve the Problem?
No, and it’s important not to overstate the case.
Noise isn’t the only element of fireworks that can frighten animals. There would still be flashes, unfamiliar sounds and activity outside, and pet guardians would still need to prepare animals known to be fearful.
But the fact that a measure doesn’t remove every aspect of a problem isn’t a good argument for doing nothing.
Reducing the maximum noise of consumer fireworks could remove some of the most extreme and unpredictable bangs from residential areas while allowing organised displays and celebrations to continue.
I explore the proposals, the impact fireworks can have on different animals and the practical steps pet guardians can take in this episode of The Consult Room.
🎧 Listen to the full episode, Fireworks Frighten Millions of Pets. Should We Change the Law to Protect Them?
Can We Keep the Celebration and Reduce the Suffering?
I’ve enjoyed fireworks displays myself. This doesn’t need to become an argument between people who enjoy fireworks and people who care about animals.
The more useful question is whether the way we use fireworks needs to evolve.
There is a meaningful difference between an organised event that local communities know is happening and repeated, unpredictable high-noise fireworks being set off in residential gardens. One gives people an opportunity to protect their animals. The other often doesn’t.
Pet guardians will always have a responsibility to prepare animals known to be frightened by fireworks. But there is a limit to how much anyone can prepare for something they cannot predict.
If sensible changes could preserve the spectacle of fireworks while reducing some of the most severe and avoidable distress they cause, that feels like a compromise worth serious consideration.
