Horse owners, animal lovers and charities involved in the care of horses have welcomed the news that tighter fireworks regulations could be on the horizon.
The government has launched a 12-week public consultation, which includes proposals for reducing the maximum noise level of consumer fireworks.
Redwings Horse Sanctuary is urging people to use this opportunity to make their voice heard before 7 October, 2026.
The charity has been campaigning for quieter fireworks as part of its Keep Horses In Mind campaign, with the intention of reducing the devastating effects very loud fireworks can have on both animals and people.
Redwings was behind a petition, which closed in March with over 184,000 signatures, calling for the noise limit of fireworks available to the public to be reduced from 120 decibels to 90 decibels.
Whilst acknowledging that this doesn’t eliminate the risk to horses entirely, the charity believes this is a practical measure that would significantly reduce the number of horses who become distressed, injured, ill or lose their lives when fireworks are used nearby.
“Having sadly experienced the loss of three much-loved rescued residents here at the Sanctuary due to loud fireworks, as well as hearing from countless horse owners who have lost dear family horses, or suffered injuries themselves due to fireworks frightening their horses, we know we are not alone in dealing with the tragic outcomes when fireworks are used inappropriately,” said Redwings Campaigns Manager Helen Whitelegg.
“Like many horse owners, pet owners and others, we feel a huge weight of anxiety and uncertainty every year, particularly when approaching traditional dates such as Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve.”
In Redwings’ survey of over 5,000 UK horse owners, more than two-thirds had direct experience of a horse in their care being impacted by fireworks and in 10% of those cases a person had also been injured by a distressed horse. Over 95% of survey respondents wanted to see tighter regulation of fireworks.
Data collected by the British Horse Society reveals that at least 28 horses have died in fireworks-related incidents in the last five years, with many more cases going unrecorded.
An owner’s worst nightmare
Somerset horse owner Jayne has been in touch with Redwings since her mare, Lucy, broke her jaw after being spooked by a loud firework last November.
She said she was relieved to see the progress that is being made, which could help prevent similarly devastating incidents happening to others.
“Lucy’s wound became infected and she required round-the-clock care, special feed, vet visits, and wound treatments for more than four months,” she said.
“It was exhausting and I couldn’t really do anything other than care for her during all that time. The costs just kept going up and although it was all worth it to see Lucy pull through against the odds, though her jaw will never fully heal, I’m now terrified of what might happen if loud fireworks are let off again nearby in the future.”
The government consultation also seeks views on proposals to review whether additional high-risk products should be banned from public sale.
“When our petition was discussed by 58 MPs in parliamentary debate in January, we heard several MPs echo the thoughts of Robbie Moore, MP for Keighley and Ilkley, when he said, ‘the time for talk is over and we need action now’,” added Helen.
“Petition debates have become an almost annual event, and we welcome the public consultation as a key step on the road to meaningful regulatory change that will help protect both animals and people.”
To read the consultation and respond, click here. Guidance from Redwings to support anyone thinking of taking part is available here.
Lead image by Shutterstock
