The Fireworks Consultation Dog Owners Should Know About

A government consultation on the sale and volume of fireworks closes on 7 October. Here is what dog owners are being asked, without the technical language.

Fireworks rarely feature in anyone’s summer planning. This year, however, the timing matters. The UK government is consulting on possible changes to the rules governing consumer fireworks, and responses must be submitted by Wednesday 7 October 2026.

Among the ideas being considered are a lower noise limit and restrictions on certain fireworks currently available for anyone over 18 to buy. Multi-shot tubes, often called barrages or cakes, are specifically under consideration. The consultation also asks whether other products in the F2 and F3 categories should be removed from general sale and reserved for professional displays.

For now, the law remains as it is. When the consultation ends, the government will review what people have said before deciding whether to take any of the proposals forward. That makes this the useful part of the process for anyone living with the effects of private fireworks: the point at which those experiences can become part of the evidence being considered.

What is being proposed?

Fireworks sold to the public are divided into categories. F2 fireworks are intended for outdoor use in smaller areas and carry a recommended safety distance of eight metres. F3 products require considerably more space, with a recommended distance of 25 metres. Adults can currently buy products from either category without specialist training or a licence.

The government is considering whether particular F2 and F3 fireworks should be placed on the list of products that the general public cannot buy. Professional operators would still be able to use them at organised displays.

One product named in the consultation is the multi-shot tube. These fireworks fire a sequence of effects from a single unit, sometimes producing repeated bursts over an extended period. Existing legislation does not state clearly enough that multi-shot tubes meeting certain technical descriptions are covered by current restrictions, so the government is proposing to make their status explicit.

Noise limits are also under review. Consumer fireworks are currently permitted to reach 120 dB(A,imp). The headline option in the consultation is 110 dB, a reduction the government says would sound roughly half as loud. The response form also includes 100 and 90 dB for those who believe 110 would still be too high. Around a third of the consumer fireworks now on sale would be affected if the 110 dB proposal were adopted. Louder products could remain available for professional displays.

For dog owners, the difference between a private firework and an organised display is significant. A public event will usually have an advertised date and start time, giving people a chance to change a walking routine, close curtains, prepare a quiet room or speak to their vet beforehand. A firework set off without warning in a neighbouring garden offers none of that preparation.

Professional displays still frighten animals, and reducing the volume would not make the problem disappear. What these proposals could change is the number of loud, unannounced displays taking place across residential areas, sometimes over several evenings.

Why the experience of dog owners matters

We know what is making the noise and that, eventually, it will finish. A dog has none of that context. The first explosion may come without warning, from somewhere they cannot see, and there is no pattern to tell them when another will follow.

Fear looks different from one dog to the next. One may disappear beneath the furniture while another barks at every bang. Some tremble or pace for hours; others refuse their food or will not step outside to go to the toilet. The greatest danger comes when panic turns into an attempt to flee, whether through a door, over a fence or out of a collar on a walk.

Figures published by the Royal Kennel Club suggest that almost half of UK dogs are frightened by fireworks. Petlog, its reunification database, has also recorded twice as many dogs reported missing over the Bonfire Night weekend as during the preceding weekend.

Dogs Trust has arrived at a similar estimate, reporting that around 49 per cent of the UK dog population shows some degree of fear or anxiety around fireworks. Many of those dogs will never appear in an emergency veterinary report or a missing-dog appeal. Their distress is managed quietly at home by owners sitting with them, rearranging evenings and waiting for a gap in the noise so they can attempt a short toilet break.

Occasionally, the consequences are fatal. Molly, an 18-week-old terrier, died in 2019 after fireworks were set off near her home. Her owner said that the frightened puppy suffered a heart attack. It was an extreme case, but one that makes the language of mild nuisance feel wholly inadequate.

Nor is this confined to animals inside the home. Horses may run through fencing or injure themselves in their stables when they panic. Redwings Horse Sanctuary has linked the deaths of three rescued ponies in its care to firework incidents, including injuries and illness caused while the animals were trying to escape. When the charity surveyed 5,000 horse owners, more than two thirds said they had experienced fireworks affecting a horse directly.

The consultation cannot take these experiences into account unless people submit them. General objections have their place, but a description of what happened to a particular animal gives the government something more concrete to consider.

How dog owners can respond

There are ten questions in the consultation. You can answer all of them, although questions 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 are likely to feel most relevant to people responding because of the effect on animals.

Question 1 asks whether any particular F2 or F3 fireworks should no longer be available to the general public. You may want to mention consumer rockets, barrages or other products that produce repeated or widely dispersed explosions. Add the reason you are concerned about them. Perhaps they can be heard over a large area, arrive with no warning or continue firing for long enough that a frightened dog cannot begin to settle.

Question 2 looks at what might happen if more products were added to the restricted list. This is the place to consider the trade-offs. There might be fewer sudden private displays and more chance for owners to plan around advertised events. At the same time, the choice available to consumers would shrink, while manufacturers and retailers might need to alter their ranges. You do not have to represent every affected group; the consultation is asking what you think the effects would be.

Multi-shot tubes have their own question, number 3. If you think repeated bursts from a single firework should be limited to professional use, say that and give your reason. The same applies if you disagree with the proposal.

Question 6 covers noise. It presents four possible limits: the existing 120 dB level, or a reduction to 110, 100 or 90 dB. No knowledge of acoustics is required. Choose the option that best reflects your view and use the comment box to explain how the present volume affects your dog or other animals in your care.

Questions 7 and 8 ask about the likely advantages and disadvantages of lowering that limit. Practical examples belong here. You might describe a dog who cannot go outside after dark, an escape attempt, several nights of disturbed behaviour or the medication and veterinary support needed each year. Owners of elderly dogs, nervous rescues and dogs with existing health or behavioural problems may have particularly relevant experiences.

There is no prize for writing the most technical response. Plain English and a specific example will do more than a paragraph of borrowed terminology. Where a question falls outside your experience, you can leave it unanswered or be candid about the limits of what you know.

Before the deadline

This is not a consultation on banning fireworks altogether. Its focus is narrower: which products should remain on general sale, whether the permitted noise level should fall and how businesses would move over to any new rules. After the deadline, the responses will be reviewed and the government intends to publish a summary together with its planned course of action.

Much of what dog owners deal with never reaches an official record. It happens in darkened living rooms, on abandoned evening walks and during hurried calls to the vet. One consultation response will not tell the whole story, but it can make one household’s experience visible to the people deciding what happens next.

The consultation closes on 7 October 2026. You do not need to answer on behalf of every dog owner. You only need to describe what fireworks have meant for yours.

Survey link:
https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eg0jcixPsRnv1NY