Every animal’s nightmare, right around the corner: Guy Fawkes Day

People with pets are yet again urging others to stop using fireworks as they are causing animals, anxiety, server shock, and even death.

Just after Diwali celebrations comes, one of England’s biggest commemorations, Guy Fawkes Day, which celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

According to the RSPCA, 45% of dogs show signs of fear when they hear fireworks and 79% of horses are anxious around fireworks or Guy Fawkes evening. They received a total of 411 calls in 2018 and 501 calls in 2017. Many animal welfare charities see a rise in owners asking for medication to calm down their pets.

The total number of calls received by the RSPCA each year concerning fireworks, RSPCA.

Vets are urging owners to buy medications, diffusers, or sprays to help reduce anxiety. Many animals also run away so it is important to get your pets microchipped and ensure the details are up to date.

Animal care worker, Jade said: it’s good to start creating positive associations when fireworks go off, from a young age. Give them treats or play games. They also need a safe space, whether that be the bathtub or their bed. Keep their favourite toys and food around and there are plenty of products out there that can calm down your pets. 

Every year, petitions go out urging the government to regulate fireworks and people are urging the UK government to introduce firework control zones and reduce the maximum permitted noise level.

Richard Greaves put out a petition to ban the sale of fireworks, other than licensed public displays. This petition has almost 12,000 signatures out of the 100,000 it needs.

Richard Greaves’ petition regarding the sale of fireworks, gov.uk

Every year many people use petitions to push the ban on fireworks. Pet owner, Adi Thornily says: I understand pets get scared of them a lot but if you have pets, there are ways to comfort them to make them less scared… it’s just loud noises for a little while and I don’t think pets will get scared for longer than the fireworks are going on.” She said she always used to look forward to having fireworks in her garden and would be “sad to not have those memories at all.”

Many local vets are keeping stores and call lines open to allow owners to call for advice and help.