UK fireworks consultation open until October — dog and horse owners urged to respond

The Government opened a twelve-week public consultation on fireworks regulation on 16 July, run by the Office for Product Safety and Standards within the Department for Business and Trade. The central proposal is to restrict the loudest fireworks to professional displays only, alongside a review of the banned list of pyrotechnic products and possible changes to the rules for lower-risk items. Organised displays would continue as they are. The consultation closes on Wednesday 7 October 2026.

Noise is the part of this that matters most to animal owners. Redwings Horse Sanctuary, which reports that the consultation also proposes lowering the maximum noise limit for consumer fireworks from 120 decibels to 110, has pointed out that the decibel scale is logarithmic — each ten-decibel reduction roughly halves perceived loudness. Its own survey of more than 5,000 UK horse owners found that over 95% wanted tighter regulation, with loud bangs cited as the single most significant risk factor. Dogs Trust, which chairs the nineteen-strong Fireworks Impact Coalition, says its National Dog Survey indicates almost half of UK dogs are affected by fireworks.

For breeders, yard owners and anyone responsible for animals, this is a rare window to put first-hand evidence in front of policymakers before Bonfire Night. Consultations of this kind are weighted by specifics rather than volume of responses, so a short, factual account of what actually happened to a particular animal tends to carry further than general sentiment. Redwings has published guidance for respondents covering which questions are worth answering and how to describe an incident usefully. Responses can be submitted through the GOV.UK consultation page.