Thank God that the fireworks season is drawing to an end in the UK. Diwali and Bonfire Night are fizzling out. Let’s remind ourselves that these events don’t happen on a single day as they should do but well before the nominated day and well after it and it’s those big bangers which terrify cats the most. They also don’t like those fizzing, whizzing sounds that rockets make. All in all, it is a terrifying time for the majority of companion animals.
There are many people who think that those that set off fireworks are selfish. Here’s why: let’s say a family of five people enjoy their firework display in their back garden or backyard. That’s five people taking pleasure from fireworks. On the downside, in an urban environment, there will usually be hundreds of companion animals and a high number of people in the surrounding area who find the noises distressing and upsetting. That’s why it’s selfish.
The solution is for local authorities to have designated and fully organised public firework displays on a single day to celebrate the event. This would inject some control into the situation and stop this extended season, one day after the next, with noise nuisance affecting millions of people. Under normal circumstances the ‘victims’ of firework noise would be able to sue in the tort of nuisance for damages!
It’s just not right that one person can entertain themselves with very loud fireworks while they have the opposite effect on hundreds of people around that person living nearby. For someone like me it is distressing because I see that my cat is distressed. I hate it when I see him like that.
In the UK, the RSPCA said that they received 1,621 calls about fireworks and the effect that they had on companion animals. One dog died of shock when a loud firework went off near their home. He raced upstairs into the bathroom and died.
The current government does not support a ban on the use and sale of fireworks. I don’t think people are asking for a ban on the use and sale of fireworks. We are simply asking for more control in the interests of animal welfare and a bit of common sense.
Paul Scully, the Minister for Small business said: “Banning fireworks could have significant and adverse unintended consequences for public safety. In particular perpetuating the emergence of a black market of illicit fireworks.”
Fine, I can agree that but what about some sort of regulation? The matter is in the hands of the Department Business, Energy and Industrial Strategies. They will decide whether there are any changes necessary to the current laws which incidentally permit public use of fireworks for 16 hours a day every day of the year! Nothing will happen, ever, I guarantee it. It’s way down in the to-do list.
There is a petition on the Change.org website to better protect animals from injury and distress from fireworks which has more than 886,000 signatures.
SOME MORE ON THOSE DAMNABLE FIREWORKS:
